COP31 faces modest climate agenda as disasters mount

COP31 is expected to deliver modest progress on cutting fossil fuel use when governments meet in Antalya next month, despite a year of severe climate disasters and record global heat.

The UN-backed climate conference is due to start on November 9 in Turkey. Australia will lead the negotiations after the two countries agreed to share COP31 duties following a hosting dispute.

The agenda includes more than 100 items, many of them technical. Nations are not expected to adopt new binding commitments to reduce coal, oil and gas use, even though countries agreed in 2023 to move away from fossil fuels.

Turkey is seeking support for a voluntary electrification pledge. The proposal would raise the share of global energy demand met by electricity from about 20 percent now to 35 percent by 2035, but it does not specify how the extra power should be produced.

Climate officials and analysts quoted by AFP said the talks are likely to focus on practical steps rather than major new agreements. UN Climate chief Simon Stiell said no single COP can solve the crisis but each summit can take “meaningful steps forward”.

The conference follows deadly heatwaves and fires in Europe, catastrophic floods in Nepal and record temperatures worldwide. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah said countries that did not create the crisis were paying for it, while former Indian negotiator Ajay Mathur said the floods would increase pressure for more finance for climate disaster recovery.