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World Leaders Begin COP31 Climate Talks in Antalya

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World Desk

In Short: World leaders, delegates, and climate activists gathered in Antalya, Turkey, for COP31 climate talks amid rising global temperatures and climate disasters.

COP31 Begins: What’s at Stake at the UN Climate Summit?. United Nations

World leaders, delegates, and climate activists gathered in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday for the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) climate talks. The summit aims to address the urgent need for climate action following a year marked by rising temperatures, deadly heat waves, and devastating floods.

Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum, the COP31 president, emphasized the need to focus on implementing previous climate commitments rather than setting new targets. Kurum stated, “We will not look away, and we will not lower our ambition.”

The summit comes as the world faces a new reality where climate extremes are becoming the norm, according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres urged leaders to “get serious” about climate action, warning that the world is on track for its hottest year on record due to climate change and El Niño.

Delegates will face pressure to develop new pledges for climate action while implementing previous promises. The summit also comes amid the war in Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global prices of gasoline and oil, and affecting products made with them, such as fertilizers and pesticides.

Kurum announced an “Action Agenda” that includes reducing methane, a greenhouse gas, and building climate-resilient cities. U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell noted, “No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight, but every recent COP has made essential progress. COP31 in Antalya will, too.”

Climate scientists warn that global average temperature rise will exceed 1.5 C (2.7 F) since the early 1800s, underscoring the difficulty of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has been a focus of international climate negotiations since 2015.

Developing countries are seeking more discussions on financing for the goals agreed upon at the 2015 Paris climate talks. Iskander Erzini Vernoit, a veteran of many climate talks and advisor to African negotiators, said, “After years of disappointment, developing countries want to know clearly how rich countries plan to provide the funds needed to tackle climate change.”

The World Leaders' Summit is scheduled for November 11 and 12, with 190 countries represented. The summit must produce tangible outcomes that people can see are real, according to its host.

The IEA is informing the COP31 Presidency’s goals on electrification; zero waste and methane; energy efficiency and resilient cities; and energy access and clean cooking.

The summit is taking place as countries battle wildfires throughout 2026 following record heat from climate change and El Niño. The world is entering a decisive period for the future of climate action, with the climate crisis not waiting for the world’s geopolitics to improve.

Background

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

• “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.
• It concluded with the adoption of the Belém Package, which called for tripling adaptation finance by 2035 to help developing countries address climate impacts.
• 350.org calls on governments gathering at UN climate talks in Türkiye to turn promises into action, make polluters pay and deliver a just transition away from fossil fuels As world leaders prepare to gather in Antalya for COP31, 350.org is warning that the world cannot afford another decade of delay in transitioning away from fossil fuels.
• Bishops and Catholic Relief Services leaders urge increased climate financing, stronger support for vulnerable communities and a just transition away from fossil fuels WASHINGTON – As world leaders gather for the 31st annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), the bishops who chair committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that address climate policy were joined by the president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to call on world leaders to decisively act to protect life on our common home.
• 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.
• Jakarta – Indonesia must accelerate domestic climate action, particularly in the energy and industrial sectors, to maintain its international credibility as world leaders gather for the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye, an Indonesian energy think tank said.
• Jakarta – World leaders and climate negotiators are gathering in Antalya for the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), facing mounting pressure to turn climate commitments into concrete action on fossil fuel transition, adaptation finance and protection of vulnerable communities.
• Police subsequently found three bodies at his home.

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