World leaders are due to begin a two-day summit at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday, November 11. Turkey is seeking support for a deal that would expand electricity's share of global energy use, while negotiators face renewed pressure to explain how countries will move away from fossil fuels. The leaders' opening and national statements are scheduled for later in the day, according to the UN climate secretariat.
The conference runs from November 9 to 20 and brings together delegates from nearly 200 countries, Reuters reported. Turkey hosts the talks, while Australia leads the negotiations. The Paris Agreement calls for efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but a UN report last month found that the world is on course to exceed that threshold. The leaders' summit is intended to give political direction to the detailed negotiations.
Turkey wants countries to back a goal of raising electricity's share of total global energy consumption to 35% by 2035, from a little over one fifth now, according to Reuters. Replacing fuel use in vehicles, buildings and industry with electricity could reduce emissions, but the proposal does not require the additional power to come from clean sources. Governments have also yet to agree on a broader plan for leaving coal, oil and gas behind.
The UN climate secretariat says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres are scheduled to address the opening. National statements are set for Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday's agenda also includes discussions on clean energy and electrification, green industry, forests and early warning systems. Reuters said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and leaders from the European Commission, China and the Marshall Islands are expected to speak.
The Associated Press reported that the talks follow a year marked by deadly floods and heat waves. Previous climate meetings agreed to a transition away from fossil fuels, but implementation has remained contested. The United States is absent from this year's conference, Reuters and AP reported. That absence and the gap between pledges and action add to the pressure on participants to produce practical steps.
Leaders are expected to finish their summit on Thursday, while COP31 negotiations continue until November 20. The immediate test is whether their statements clarify how the proposed electrification target would be powered by low-emission energy and how countries would carry out the earlier fossil-fuel commitment. No final agreement had been announced as the summit was due to open.
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