ANTALYA (TURKIYE), NOV 9 (AP): World leaders, delegates and climate activists on Monday kicked off talks in Turkiye 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 UN 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 fertilisers and pesticides. The disruption has pushed governments to rethink energy policies and increased investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
“For too many people, climate change is deadly,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell said on Monday. “At this COP, nations face a choice: electric or shock. Rewire the global economy for the electric age. Or accept ongoing fossil fuel cost pain for families, firms and governments.” “The climate crisis is now a global health crisis of pandemic proportions,” he said.
Earlier, Stiell also 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 per cent to 35 per cent 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.”
