Antalya (Turkiye): With climate change intensifying extreme weather events and threatening communities worldwide, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell on Monday called on countries to use COP31 to accelerate practical solutions, stressing that the urgency of the moment must drive collective action.
Addressing the opening plenary of the UN climate conference here, Stiell highlighted the issues of rising heat crisis, glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayan region and the threat of a super El Nino, warning that the impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating.
“Global heating is already costing the Earth. Appalling tragedy has hit the Himalayas, adding to the ever-expanding catalogue hitting communities across every region. A monster El Nino is piling fuel on the climate fire that’s already burning through communities and economies everywhere,” he said at the summit, called the Conference of the Parties or COP31.
“The vulnerable everywhere pay the highest price, and profound injustice threatens our solidarity and collective progress. Frustration is palpable,” Stiell said.
He underscored that fairness must be at the heart of a truly global shift to clean energy and climate resilience, arguing that such a transition is in every country’s interest as it would help limit global warming and protect communities and economies.
Stiell also pointed to the economic consequences of dependence on fossil fuels, saying the volatility in fossil fuel costs this year had triggered a global shock, pushing up household expenses and fuelling inflation.
“This year’s fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer. The fall-out has been severe, both economically and politically, as we’ve just seen,” he said.
Speaking about solutions to the climate crisis, Stiell highlighted the economic benefits of renewable energy, saying it saved around half a trillion dollars last year and another USD 265 billion in the first half of this year alone.
However, he cautioned that the conference faced significant financial constraints even as its responsibilities continued to grow. He said serious discussions with countries on budget consultations would be required over the next six months.
“We cannot keep doing more with less. No COP is a silver bullet. No single conference can bridge the chasm between the science and reality. We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. Every recent COP has delivered strides forward. This one must too,” Stiell said.
COP31 President-Designate and Turkiye’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum said Antalya’s call for COP31 is that dialogues, trust and resources must grow, while the gap between promises made at successive climate summits and their impact on people’s lives must be closed.
“We want COP31 to deliver on that call as an Implementation COP. The world’s message is unmistakable: each crisis makes the others worse. We may come from different places.
“Our circumstances, resources and priorities may differ. Yet we increasingly share the same climate calendar. Sharing that calendar means sharing responsibility,” he said at the plenary session.
Flagging the issues of war and geopolitical tensions, Kurum said that while trade routes, energy networks and supply chains are being redrawn, hundreds of millions struggle to put food on the table.
“Some of the distances that divide our world cannot be seen. They separate those able to secure finance from those unable to do so. They separate those with technology from those who need it. They separate countries able to withstand shocks from societies that remain vulnerable,” he said, adding that narrowing those distances is one of climate diplomacy’s greatest responsibilities.
Stressing the need to address delays in climate finance, Kurum warned that failure to provide adequate funding for adaptation could aggravate humanitarian crises, particularly in vulnerable countries and communities.
“The costs we will face in the future must therefore inform the decisions we take now. The 1.5 degree Celsius goal remains our guide. We will be frank about what the science tells us. And we will bring the voices of the most vulnerable countries and communities to the centre of our agenda.
“The decisions we take in Antalya will only truly come to life when they leave these halls,” he said.
Appealing to countries at COP31, Kurum said the conference could mark the beginning of a historic partnership, with its decisions translating into tangible changes in urban infrastructure, agricultural practices and industrial production.
“Every country has knowledge to contribute. Every society has experience. Every generation has energy. Every institution has capacity. We need them all. If we are to share a future, we must share the responsibility for it,” he said.
