UN Climate Summit Kicks Off in Turkey  11/09 06:12

   

   ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) -- World leaders, delegates and climate activists on 
Monday kicked off talks in Turkey on curbing climate change, which in the last 
year has led to rising temperatures and deadly heat waves in Europe and beyond, 
and played a role in disasters such as the devastating floods in Nepal.

   This U.N. climate summit -- called the Conference of the Parties, or COP31 
-- comes as the war in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, hiking 
global prices of gasoline, oil and products made with them, such as fertilizers 
and pesticides. The disruption has pushed governments to rethink energy 
policies and increased investment in renewable energy sources like wind and 
solar.

   "COP31 must supercharge solutions," U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said at 
the opening session. An estimated 68,500 people are to attend the two-week 
event and nearly 25,000 people will help ensure the conference goes smoothly.

   Stiell said that agreeing on practical solutions, such as reducing methane 
emissions, can be "planetary icepacks" that can help reduce global heating. 
Methane stays in the atmosphere for a shorter time but warms the planet much 
faster than other planet-heating gases. Using renewable-powered electricity 
instead of oil, gas and coal can also help reduce global warming.

   Delegates, meeting in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, will come 
under pressure to develop new pledges for climate action while implementing 
previous promises. The stakes are high: Climate scientists say global warming 
is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 
preindustrial levels of the early 1800s.

   Limiting temperature rise to that threshold was a goal established during 
the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, it's been a focus of international 
climate negotiations.

   The fact that the goal is no longer realistic underscores how difficult it's 
been for the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which are released into the 
atmosphere when fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal are burned, leading to 
climate change.

   "This is the first COP where it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the 
world will overshoot the 1.5-degree target," said Turkish Environment Minister 
Murat Kurum. "We will not look away, and we will not lower our ambition."

   Kurum, the COP31 president, has said that rather than establishing new 
targets, he wants the summit to focus on turning previous climate commitments 
into action.

   He has announced an "Action Agenda" that includes reducing methane emissions 
and building climate-resilient cities. There is also the aim of increasing the 
use of electricity -- preferably from renewable energy such as solar and wind 
-- from 21% to 35% by 2035, to reduce greenhouse emissions.

   "Success begins when our decisions reach that last mile," said Kurum. "If we 
are to share a future, we must share the responsibility for it."

   Climate talks kick off with a tense start 

   Delegates are also expected to discuss at the Nov. 9-20 summit how to help 
poorer countries pay to adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather 
events, both tied to climate change, and transition away from fossil fuels.

   Even as leaders delivered speeches talking about ambition and 
implementation, negotiators from nearly 200 countries were already wrangling in 
the backrooms about disagreements over funds for climate adaptation and 
recovery from climate disasters and other long-pending bottlenecks.

   "Countries that did the least to cause this crisis shouldn't have to borrow 
their way through it," said Meena Raman from the Malaysia-based climate 
advocacy group Third World Network.

   At the center of the disagreements are developing countries, which seek more 
discussions on financing for the goals agreed on at the 2015 Paris climate 
talks.

   "After years of disappointment, developing countries want to know clearly 
how rich countries plan to provide the funds needed to tackle climate change," 
said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, a veteran of many climate talks and advisor to 
African negotiators at this year's talks.

   "Agenda proposals from the 54-country African Group were backed by many 
developing countries but contested by rich countries from the European Union 
and Canada," he said.

   The last two summits, COP30 in Brazil and COP29 in Azerbaijan, came under 
criticism for ending with little agreement on how to reduce greenhouse 
emissions. The final texts of those conferences didn't even mention fuels. At 
COP28 in Dubai, delegates had agreed to transition away from fossil fuels.

   The United States is missing in action again 

   The United States -- the world's second-largest polluter after China -- is 
again absent from the summit.

   During his first term, and again when he took office for a second time in 
January 2025, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from climate 
negotiations.

   "No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight," 
said Stiell, the climate chief. "But every recent COP has made essential 
progress. COP31 in Antalya will, too."

   In a change from previous summits, Turkey and Australia are jointly holding 
this summit after the two jostled over which would be the host. As a 
compromise, Turkey is the official host while Australia is leading the 
negotiations. Both countries have come under criticism for their strong 
reliance on coal.