Climate Conference: what can COP31 achieve?
The 31st UN Climate Change Conference began in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday. Over two weeks, delegates from around 200 countries will aim to reach an agreement on concrete climate protection measures to curb global warming as quickly as possible. Turkey is co-hosting COP31 with Australia. The press sees some signs that real progress can be made.
Companies faster than negotiations
Fortunately not everyone is waiting for those in power to resolve the problems, notes Le Soir:
“The solutions are well known, and the measures already implemented show that they can be effective. ... Faced with a political class that is barely making any headway, some companies have already decided to adopt these measures and align their operations with the green transition. ... Through their actions in the energy, housing, transportation and food sectors, these companies are charting a course for a future that aligns with climate targets. And better still: as they move beyond their newcomer status they are reaching tens of thousands of people whom they are taking with them on the path to change.”
Turkey must seize this historic opportunity
Turkey has a chance to shape the green transition on its own terms, stresses Yeni Akit:
“Those who once ruled the world by controlling the steam engine and financial capital are now seeking to monopolise the patents for the green transition and the flow of credit, thereby extending their global dominance for another century. ... The trend of the new era will be shaped by those countries that produce the technology for the green development model themselves. Either Turkey seizes this historic opportunity and rises with tremendous leverage to the top of the global league or it will lose another century, just as it did during the Industrial Revolution. And it will remain condemned to being just a market for other countries' technology.”
Ruthless interest-driven politics
COP31 has long been more than just a round of negotiations on temperature targets, explains Ieva Budraitė, leader of the Lithuanian Green Party, in LRT:
“The US is not sending an official delegation to COP31. This is significant not only because of its historical responsibility as one of the largest emitters of CO2. The American stance also influences international climate finance and the willingness of other countries to take on additional commitments. ... China, on the other hand, which has become one of the world's leading producers of clean energy technologies, is raising a different issue at COP31: trade restrictions. ... The European Union, for its part, is seeking to safeguard the competitiveness of its industry and avoid a situation where emissions-intensive production processes in Europe are simply replaced by imports that are just as harmful to the climate.”
More electriticy is the key
SRF opints to positive developments:
“There are a number of new initiatives. One of the most interesting is the proposal by host country Turkey to increase the global share of electricity in total final energy consumption to at least 35 percent by 2035. Today, that number stands at 23 percent. The switch to electric vehicles, heat pumps and electric industrial motors is already economically viable in many cases. If the proposal were supported by many countries, it would be an important step towards phasing out fossil fuels.”
Ankara clinging to coal and gas
Birgün, however, criticises that the host of the climate summit is sending out the wrong signal:
“Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced to the whole world ahead of COP31 that the country would not phase out fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) by 2040. COP31 President Murat Kurum, the Minister for the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change – who otherwise says 'We don't have a single day to lose' – has yet to comment on this, however. ... Bayraktar's statement has made it clear that Turkey intends to continue operating its coal- and gas-fired power stations, which account for around 147 million tonnes of the country's total 584 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, until 2040. Yet in the run-up to COP31, which is being referred to as the 'Implementation COP', the world had expected steps towards phasing out fossil fuels.”
Encouraging progress
There has been at least some progress on the climate protection front, the Irish Examiner stresses:
“The question facing Antalya is how to accelerate action when even delivering existing pledges would leave the world facing severe warming. ... There are grounds for resisting despair. The UN Environment Programme UNEP records that renewable energy has expanded rapidly and climate policies have reduced emissions in many places. Progress is possible and measurable. The challenge is to extend successful measures quickly enough, while supporting people and countries whose resources to respond are weakest.”
The tide could turn in 2026
The Frankfurter Rundschau also sees cause for optimism:
“Especially since the fossil fuel laggards are suffering setbacks. In Brazil, Lula's election victory has left the country with a president who takes protecting the Amazon seriously. In the US midterms, Trump's Republicans suffered a defeat. Coupled with the boom in clean energy, 2026 could be the year when the tide turns for the better. Former US Vice-President and climate activist Al Gore has expressed this hope. It's about time, too.”
Current decline in CO2 not sustainable
We shouldn't make too much of this year's positive trend, Der Standard warns:
“Trump's actions in Iran in particular have caused oil prices to soar. Supply has been curbed, and consumption has fallen. One of the many consequences of this can now be seen in the Global Carbon Budget Report: fossil fuel emissions are expected to fall in 2026. ... One might argue that why CO2 emissions have gone down is of secondary importance – the main thing being that a turnaround finally takes place. The reasons for the decline are crucial, however, as they allow us to assess whether the trend is sustainable: global emissions also dropped during the Covid pandemic thanks to economic factors. But as soon as the crisis was over they shot up again.”