At the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued an urgent call to action on climate change. In a stark warning, he accused the fossil fuel lobby of delaying crucial climate action and emphasized the need for a rapid phase-out of coal, gas, and oil as energy sources to prevent disaster.
The UN chief asserted that the current trajectory of emissions is leading the world towards catastrophe. With 2025 seeing record-breaking emissions levels and recurring heat records being shattered, Guterres underscored the urgent need for action. He pointed out that while fossil fuel interests continue to thrive, they are simultaneously damaging economies and worsening the climate crisis, as evident in surging petroleum prices since the US-Israel conflict on Iran disrupted Middle East oil exports.
Notable attendees at the summit include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The only G7 leader scheduled to address the summit is British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, while key European leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian PM Mark Carney, and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi are absent.
The host nation, Turkey, is championing a voluntary initiative to accelerate the electrification of transport, buildings, and industry, aiming to increase electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035. However, this proposal has sparked debate over the role of oil, gas, and coal in electrification, with the EU emphasizing the need for clean electrification. Iran's President Pezeshkian plans to use the event to express Tehran's position on environmental destruction caused by US and Israeli actions.
A recent UN report suggests the world is on track to surpass the 1.5-degree Celsius warming limit agreed upon under the Paris Agreement, potentially exacerbating the worst effects of climate change. Furthermore, extreme heatwaves across Western Europe and a catastrophic glacier collapse in Nepal that resulted in over 1,500 fatalities and thousands still missing highlight the urgent need for immediate action on climate change.