UN chief urges leaders to 'get serious' as COP31 opens

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

69% : Hottest year As negotiators tussled in Antalya, the UN's World Meteorological Organization released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels.
59% : The EU's climate monitor warned last week that 2026 would most likely be the second-hottest year ever recorded while scientists say 2027 could top the chart, fuelled by El Nino.
57% : "Global leaders must pull us back from the brink and commit to rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels and expanding renewable energy, an imperative reinforced by the current energy affordability crisis," said Rachel Cleetus, climate programme director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
55% : Under UN climate agreements, developed countries, which are historically responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, have provided financial support to help developing nations adapt to climate impacts and transition to cleaner energy.
53% : Guterres made his plea as thousands of participants descended on a sprawling expo centre in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya for the UN's annual climate talks.
53% : Countries committed to transition away from fossil fuels in a landmark pact at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 but have struggled to agree on how to turn that pledge into action.
50% : He urged leaders to "get serious by cutting emissions faster, accelerating a just transition from fossil fuels and delivering the finance and protection vulnerable countries need".
48% : UN chief Antonio Guterres urged world leaders on Monday to "get serious" about tackling climate change as the COP31 conference was set to open with negotiators already tangled in an early fight over money.
46% : Fossil fuel fight Turkey is presiding over COP31, with Australia leading negotiations under an unusual arrangement that settled a dispute over who would host the conference.
46% : Instead, Brazil produced a voluntary "roadmap" with proposals for phasing out fossil fuels that each country can tailor to their circumstances.
45% : A senior European Union official warned last week that there would be "no political will" for extra funding pledges at COP31. Observers say few major breakthroughs are expected at COP31 as countries grapple with an oil price shock and geopolitical tensions fuelled by the US war with Iran and Russia's conflict in Ukraine.
44% : The long-term outlook is bleak: the United Nations warned in September that global temperatures were on course to exceed 1.5C above preindustrial levels, breaching the most ambitious threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
39% : The European Union has called for "clean" electrification, a term that could spark debate over the role of fossil fuels in the Turkish proposal.
37% : COP30 ended with a deal that made no explicit mention of fossil fuels after oil-producing countries opposed the language.

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