NEW YORK / ConSynSer / – UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell has called on nations to unite and deliver real-world progress at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. He said the conference must protect more people and ensure they benefit from climate action. No single COP can stop climate change overnight, Stiell said. But he said every recent COP has made essential progress and the Antalya talks will as well.
The conference opens on November 9 and runs until November 20 at the Antalya Expo Center. Türkiye is hosting, with Environment Minister Murat Kurum as COP31 President. Australia’s Chris Bowen will lead the negotiations as President of Negotiations. Türkiye has said the final decision at the conference rests with the COP31 presidency. Stiell said COP31 will convert pledges and targets into concrete results through both the formal talks and the Global Climate Action Agenda.
Stiell said the talks will gather businesses, cities, states, communities and civil society to turn words on paper into projects on the ground. He acknowledged that nations face stiff geopolitical headwinds. A leaders’ summit is planned for November 11 and 12. The meeting follows years of debate over climate finance, including at COP29 in Baku. COP30 was held last year in Belém, Brazil.
Energy costs and disasters weigh on households
According to Stiell, COP31 takes place amid an ongoing fossil-fuel cost crisis that has driven energy and transport costs sharply higher. Worsening climate disasters are damaging every nation, destroying lives and harming health. They are also raising food prices and hunger, he said. Stiell said the climate crisis and its causes are now on every kitchen table, hitting every economy and population hard. The World Bank expects energy prices to rise 32% this year, with Brent crude averaging $91 a barrel.
He said the conference can strengthen practical solutions to these pressures. Electrification and clean energy can lower household bills and secure energy supplies, Stiell said. Canada has also been planning a major electricity grid expansion. Building resilience can protect communities and economies from worsening disasters. Stiell said this is more urgent than ever as a super El Niño intensifies climate impacts.
Methane cuts and faster finance urged
Stiell called for climate finance to reach people faster and with less red tape. He also urged action on super pollutants such as methane. Methane is driving global heating at up to 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, he said. He said cutting such pollutants can make a big difference. Methane’s warming effect is strongest in the first two decades after it is released, which makes cuts quick to show results.
The essential business of the Paris Agreement keeps the wheels turning and the goals in sight, Stiell said. He pointed to national plans to deploy clean energy and boost resilience, as well as progress reports on those plans. The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to hold warming well below 2C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C. Delegates in Antalya are expected to review that work over the two-week meeting. Stiell’s message comes as the conference approaches against a backdrop of rising costs and worsening disasters.