Home · World · Nov 9 archive
World Leaders Begin COP31 Climate Talks Amid Rising Temperatures and Disasters
· Confirmed
In Short: The summit comes amid rising global temperatures, deadly heat waves, and devastating floods, with climate scientists warning that global average temperature rise will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius since the early 1800s.
COP31 opens with leaders under pressure to tackle climate crisis • FRANCE 24 English. FRANCE 24 English
World leaders, delegates, and climate activists gathered in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday for the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to discuss climate change and its impacts.
COP31 President Murat Kurum emphasized the need to focus on implementing previous climate commitments rather than setting new targets, stating, “We will not look away, and we will not lower our ambition.”
The summit comes amid rising global temperatures, deadly heat waves, and devastating floods, with climate scientists warning that global average temperature rise will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius since the early 1800s.
Delegates will face pressure to develop new pledges for climate action while implementing previous promises, with the war in Iran pushing up global prices of gasoline and oil.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders to “get serious” as the world enters a new reality where climate extremes are the norm.
The summit also includes a World Leaders' Summit scheduled for November 11 and 12, with 350.org calling on governments to turn promises into action and make polluters pay.
Bishops and Catholic Relief Services leaders urged increased climate financing and stronger support for vulnerable communities, emphasizing the need for a just transition away from fossil fuels.
High-stakes talks involving 190 countries are expected to produce tangible outcomes, with developing countries seeking more discussions on financing for goals agreed upon at the 2015 Paris climate talks.
The climate crisis will not wait for the world’s geopolitics to improve, and the summit must supercharge solutions to address urgent climate finance and adaptation strategies.
The world is entering a decisive period for the future of climate action, with the COP31 summit in Antalya set to make essential progress.
No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight, but every recent COP has made essential progress, and COP31 in Antalya will, too.
What's confirmed
- ANTALYA, Turkey -- World leaders, delegates and climate activists on Monday will begin negotiations on curbing climate change, which in the last year has led to rising temperatures, deadly heat waves in Europe and beyond, and has played a role in disasters like the devastating floods in Nepal.
- “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.
- The stakes are high: climate scientists say global average temperature rise will exceed 1.5 C (2.7 F) since the early 1800s.
- Delegates, meeting in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, will come under pressure to develop new pledges for climate action while implementing previous promises.
- This U.N. climate summit, called the Conference of the Parties, or COP31, also comes as the war in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global prices of gasoline and oil and myriad products made with them, such as fertilizers and pesticides.
- 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.
- Since then, it's been a focus of international climate negotiations.
- He has announced an “Action Agenda” that includes reducing methane, a greenhouse gas, and building climate-resilient cities, among other things.
- “No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight,” said U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
- 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.
What's still developing
- From Western Europe to Indonesia, countries have battled wildfires throughout 2026 following record heat from climate change and El Niño The world is on course for its hottest year on record as the planet is hit with warming from climate change and El Niño, scientists have told BBC News.
- “There’s a whole bunch of decisions that have to be taken, but none of them on their own is going to make headlines,” said Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president of international strategies for the nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
- Opposition leaders have said they would boycott a panel appointed by politicians, arguing that such a process would not ensure an independent investigation.
- The leader of Myanmar’s military-backed government is traveling to Malaysia for talks with its leaders as the two Southeast Asian nations work to repatriate thousands of Myanmar nationals.
- Sydney Catholic Youth team leader Campbell Evans said World Youth Day provides a unique opportunity to strengthen bonds across the local church while connecting Sydney pilgrims with the universal church.
- “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.
Sources
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
- Arabnewslink
- BBClink
- Gristlink
- Los Angeles Timeslink
- Madhyamamlink
- News9livelink
- Sustainability Magazinelink
- The Elderslink
- The Peninsula Qatarlink
- prameyanews.comlink
- Todaylink
- Dailypioneerlink
- Cbcpnewslink
- Thefloridacatholiclink
- Thespeclink
- FRANCE 24 English — video link
- News Central — video link
- euronews — video link