World leaders to address COP31 as Turkey pushes for new climate deal

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkiye, for the COP31 climate summit. Negotiators are seeking an agreement to increase the share of electricity in global energy use and are attempting to revive stalled efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. According to Free Malaysia Today, the host nation is championing an initiative to accelerate electrification with a target of reaching a 35% share of global energy consumption by 2035.

World leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, are scheduled to deliver speeches during a high-level segment on Wednesday and Thursday. Business Recorder reports that Laurent Fabius, who leads an advisory council of former COP presidents, suggested these speeches could provide political impetus for negotiations, noting that implementation is a key focus in Antalya.

Free Malaysia Today reports that several prominent leaders are absent from the summit, noting that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is the only G7 leader scheduled to speak. While European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is attending, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are skipping the event. The summit arrives as a UN report indicates the world is on track to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit established under the Paris Agreement.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Business Recorder, Free Malaysia Today — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.