The UN’s top climate official, Simon Stiell, urged negotiators at the COP31 summit in Antalya, Turkey, to avoid “tactical delays” that could block a deal to slow global warming. Delegates from more than 200 nations are gathered in the Mediterranean city with the core goal of preventing planetary warming beyond 2°C (3.6°F). Downtown, thousands of civil society and environmental activists protested against the consequences of climate change.
Key Takeaways: Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said securing an agreement is “tough but vital work” and that there is “no collective success without compromise from every party.” He urged parties entering the second week to move swiftly to the hardest issues and avoid tactical delays. Organizers said tens of thousands marched in Antalya for climate protection and human rights, and the Turkish regime, which often bans large public gatherings, permitted the rally.
COP31 is seeking to unlock finance and investment, reduce emissions of methane and so-called super-pollutants, and ensure food security. But with inflation, wars, deindustrialization and debt seen as more immediate threats, many governments are watering down clean-energy transition commitments and the billions needed to help developing nations adapt. The US regime under President Donald Trump skipped the talks for the second consecutive year; Trump has called climate change a hoax and promoted continued fossil-fuel use. Delegates also face pressure from large fossil-fuel-producing nations to avoid stricter targets for a faster phase-out of oil and gas.
South African environmental activist Zaki Mamdoo told DW that “the pursuit of profit at all costs continues to set the global agenda and govern the trajectory of our world, so there is a need to push back.” Luisa Nebauer, main organizer of Germany’s Fridays for Future movement, lamented that Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other European regime leaders were absent: “We won’t have a chance to solve any of the crises as long as our planet is destabilizing by the hour. We must show up!” A parallel “People’s Climate Summit” is also taking place.
Australia’s COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen said a first draft of the deal text is expected next week. A UN report last month warned that within a few years the world is set to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold set in Paris in 2015. The Turkish regime is pushing a plan to expand global electrification, yet some environmental groups are disappointed the proposal does not push increased electricity use from renewable sources.
Source: www.dw.com