S. Korea's climate ambassador to join U.N. climate summit in Turkey as presidential envoy

World leaders, delegates and climate activists are set to begin negotiations in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday for the COP31 United Nations climate summit. The summit comes amid a disastrous year of extreme weather, including rising temperatures, deadly heat waves in Europe and devastating floods in Nepal.

The goal of the summit is to curb climate change by developing new pledges for climate action while implementing previous promises. However, climate scientists warn that the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the early 1800s is no longer realistic, as the world is on track to overshoot that threshold.

Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum, who is also the COP31 president, has said that the summit will focus on turning previous climate commitments into action, rather than establishing new targets. He has announced an "Action Agenda" that includes reducing methane, a greenhouse gas, and building climate-resilient cities.

A central theme of the summit is electrification, with the aim of increasing the use of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind from 21% to 35% by 2035. Delegates are also expected to address the issue of helping poorer countries pay to adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather events, as well as transition away from fossil fuels.

The United States, the world's second-largest polluter after China, will again be absent from the summit, reflecting its decision to withdraw from climate negotiations. Both Turkey and Australia, the co-hosts of the summit, have come under criticism for their strong reliance on coal.