UN climate chief Simon Stiell says countries must accelerate implementation of climate targets, while Türkiye and Australia urge faster finance, electrification and resilience measures.
By Bunmi Yekini
World leaders and climate negotiators opened COP31 in Türkiye on Monday with calls to accelerate climate action, close financing gaps and translate international commitments into practical solutions as global warming intensifies.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the annual climate summit must move beyond setting targets to breaking down existing commitments into concrete steps that deliver results on the ground.
“Progress is nowhere near fast or fair enough,” Stiell said in his opening statement, urging countries to accelerate renewable energy deployment, expand adaptation finance and cut methane emissions.
He said action on methane and electrification could reduce projected global warming by half a degree Celsius, describing the measures as critical to limiting further climate damage.
The summit in Antalya comes amid mounting climate impacts, including extreme heat, drought, flooding and growing economic pressures, with vulnerable countries bearing a disproportionate burden.
COP31 President-designate Murat Kurum said climate change was increasingly affecting food supplies, energy systems, migration, health and economic stability, making climate policy inseparable from development.
“Climate policy today is also development policy. It is food policy. Energy policy. Urban policy. Health policy,” Kurum said.
He called for stronger international cooperation to bridge inequalities in access to finance, technology and resources, particularly between developed and developing countries.
Kurum said the summit should ensure that climate commitments translate into tangible benefits for communities, including lower energy bills, resilient infrastructure and support for farmers facing worsening environmental conditions.
The Turkish presidency, working with Australia, has positioned COP31 as an “Implementation COP”, focusing on turning existing commitments into practical outcomes.
Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen, who is serving as COP31 president of negotiations, said the world was already experiencing the consequences of climate change and warned that every delay would increase risks to lives, economies and the environment.
He said global warming was projected to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold set under the Paris Agreement but added that countries could still return to that pathway through urgent collective action.
Before the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, global warming projections were approaching 4 degrees Celsius, Bowen said. Current projections have fallen to about 2.6 degrees, reflecting progress in international climate efforts.
However, he said the pace of implementation must increase, particularly in renewable energy, electrification and climate finance.
Renewable electricity generation has nearly doubled since 2015, while global investment in clean energy reached about $2.2 trillion last year, nearly twice the amount invested in fossil fuels, Bowen said.
He called for electricity to account for 35% of global final energy consumption by 2035, up from about one-fifth currently, saying electrification could improve energy security, reduce emissions and shield households from volatile energy prices.
FINANCE AND ADAPTATION
Access to climate finance is expected to remain a central issue at the two-week conference, particularly for developing countries struggling to fund adaptation and energy transition projects.
Stiell said countries needed practical solutions to overcome barriers to accessing finance already committed, while Bowen warned that nations most in need of climate funding were often receiving the least.
At the previous climate summit in Baku, countries agreed to mobilise at least $300 billion annually for developing nations by 2035, alongside a broader ambition to increase public and private climate finance to $1.3 trillion a year.
Kurum said COP31 would seek to connect investors with projects requiring funding and countries needing technology with those able to provide it.
The Turkish presidency has proposed a Climate Implementation Bridge to match local needs with international finance, technology and expertise.
Bowen said negotiations would also focus on adaptation, resilience, a just transition for workers and communities, and mechanisms to accelerate emissions reductions across sectors.
He said a proposed presidency-led decision would seek to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement without duplicating existing negotiations.
PRESSURE FOR FASTER ACTION
The opening statements also highlighted the growing urgency of climate action amid geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and rising energy costs.
Stiell said fossil fuel price volatility had triggered economic shocks and inflation, while renewable energy had generated substantial savings.
Global renewables saved about $500 billion last year and a further $265 billion in the first half of 2026, he said.
Kurum said climate decisions would only be meaningful if they improved people’s lives, from farmers confronting dry soil to communities exposed to rising seas and cities struggling with extreme heat.
Bowen acknowledged the leadership of Indigenous peoples and Pacific island nations, which face severe climate risks despite contributing relatively little to global emissions.
He said the conference must demonstrate that multilateral cooperation could deliver practical results.
“No country can achieve this alone,” Bowen said. “But together we can and we must.”
The summit is expected to build on previous climate agreements and lay the groundwork for the next global stocktake in 2028, which will assess progress towards the Paris Agreement goals.