Enviro News Asia, Antalya — As the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) approaches, UN climate leaders have stressed that climate pledges and targets must be translated into tangible results. The message was delivered by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum, and COP31 Negotiations President Chris Bowen in a statement released by the UNFCCC on Thursday (November 5, 2026).
COP31 is scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, 2026.
Stiell cautioned that the conference should not be seen as a shortcut to resolving the climate crisis.
“No single COP is a magic solution capable of ending climate change overnight. However, every COP has delivered important progress. COP31 in Antalya will be no different,” he said.
Amid mounting geopolitical tensions, Stiell said countries must come together again and take concrete action to protect more people and ensure they benefit from climate initiatives.
He noted that this year’s conference is taking place amid a prolonged crisis driven by fossil fuel costs, which have pushed up energy and transportation prices. Increasingly severe climate disasters, he added, are claiming lives, damaging human health, driving up food prices, and worsening hunger.
Stiell said COP31 could advance practical solutions, ranging from electrification and clean energy to reduce household bills and strengthen energy security, to greater resilience against the impacts of a potential “super El Niño.”
Climate finance, he said, must also reach communities faster through simpler administrative procedures. He further emphasized the need to reduce super pollutants, noting that methane can have up to 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide.
Kurum said COP31 would focus on turning commitments made at previous climate conferences into tangible outcomes.
“This is the first COP to clearly and unequivocally show that the world will overshoot the 1.5-degree target. We will not look away, and we will not retreat from our ambition,” he said.
He stressed that the 1.5-degree target must remain the guiding compass, while Antalya should begin addressing the new realities resulting from the overshoot.
On climate finance, Kurum reiterated the Baku agreement to mobilize at least US$300 billion annually by 2035 for developing countries.
“We do not need a new target. We must deliver on the target already set, with developed countries taking the lead,” he said.
According to Kurum, COP31 is also designed to usher in an era of electrification.
“The energy we need to import is the energy we do not control,” he said.
Through a “zero waste” agenda, he aims to demonstrate that the first step in climate action does not require financial resources: the decision to stop wasting resources. Reducing methane emissions from waste, he added, is one of the fastest ways to slow global warming.
Chris Bowen, who also serves as Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, acknowledged that the conference is taking place during a challenging period.
“Reaching consensus among nearly 200 countries will not be easy, but cooperation remains essential,” he said. “No single country can solve climate change on its own.”
He expressed hope that COP31 would help unlock financing and investment, deliver more affordable energy for households, accelerate electrification, and strengthen action to protect the oceans.
Stiell said COP31 would bring together businesses, cities, local governments, communities, and civil society through the Global Climate Action Agenda to turn commitments on paper into practical projects on the ground.
He added that the core elements of the Paris Agreement—including national plans to expand clean energy, strengthen resilience, and report progress—help maintain momentum and keep climate targets within reach. (*)
