The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) opened Monday in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, immediately running into friction between wealthy and developing nations over climate financing. The opening ceremony at the Antalya Expo Center was delayed by an hour as negotiators argued behind closed doors over how to structure agenda items concerning financial support for poorer nations.
More than 90,000 delegates, observers, and campaigners from nearly 200 countries are expected to attend the two-week summit, which runs through Nov. 20. As the talks began, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark appeal to world leaders to "get serious" after a year marked by severe flooding, wildfires, and heatwaves.
"A supersized El Niño is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade climate change," Guterres said in a statement. "We have entered a new age of climate extremes." He urged governments to cut emissions faster, accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels, and deliver the funding and protection needed by vulnerable countries.
Unique presidency and Türkiye's electrification push
This marks the first time Türkiye has hosted a UN climate summit. Under a rare power-sharing arrangement agreed at last year's COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, after both countries bid to host the event, Turkish Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum serves as COP31 President, while Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen acts as President of Negotiations.
Addressing delegates after taking the gavel on Monday morning, Kurum said the summit must translate diplomatic pledges into tangible outcomes. "Our decisions must take shape in a city's infrastructure, on a farmer's land and along a factory's production line," Kurum said. "Families must feel their impact in lower energy bills."
A centerpiece of Türkiye's presidency is the "35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge," an initiative asking nations to raise electricity's share of global final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035, up from roughly 20 percent today, by replacing direct fossil fuel use in transport, buildings, and industry.
The proposal has already drawn scrutiny over whether electrification targets alone are sufficient. Small island nations in the South Pacific and other climate-vulnerable countries are pressing for a firmer roadmap to phase out fossil fuels entirely, whereas major oil- and gas-producing states argue that hydrocarbons should remain part of the energy mix if paired with carbon capture technologies.
Clashes over climate finance and global headwinds
Disagreements over money dominated the opening hours of the conference. Developing countries are demanding faster and larger commitments from industrialized nations—which are historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions—to pay for climate adaptation and the shift to clean energy.
According to the UN Environment Programme's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report released last week, international public adaptation finance flowing from developed to developing countries stood at between $28.2 billion and $31.7 billion in 2024, far short of the estimated $305 billion needed annually by 2035. Jasper Inventor, head of the Greenpeace delegation at COP31, described the opening talks as difficult, noting that developed nations were taking a hard line against proposals to expand financing discussions agreed upon in Brazil last year.
Negotiators also face strong geopolitical and economic headwinds. Global energy markets have been rattled by the U.S. conflict with Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, pushing some governments to prioritize immediate energy security and coal or oil supplies. Rapidly growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers and the continued disengagement of the United States from international climate cooperation have added further strain to the talks.
Record heat and the summit agenda
Adding urgency to the opening day, which focused formally on health, food security, water efficiency, and agriculture, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published its State of the Climate Update 2026 in Antalya. Key findings from the report include:
- Global average surface temperatures between January and September 2026 were approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
- The past 12 years have been the 12 warmest on record, with 2026 on track to rank among the four hottest years ever measured.
- The current El Niño weather phenomenon—projected to be the strongest since at least 1950—could push tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures up to 3.8 degrees Celsius above average by January, threatening to make 2027 another record-breaking year.
"What we are seeing gives new meaning to the phrase off the charts," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told reporters, calling for increased investment in early-warning weather systems.
Bowen told delegates that the presidency plans to begin drafting a political outcome immediately rather than waiting until the final days of the summit. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to host a high-level Leaders' Summit on Nov. 11 and 12, followed by dedicated ministerial sessions on climate finance on Nov. 13 and 14.
