ANTALYA, Türkiye, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) opened Monday in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya with a focus on translating global climate commitments into concrete action.
The conference will focus on three key areas, including implementing emissions reduction targets, delivering climate finance to developing countries, and strengthening adaptation and resilience, with the aim of turning commitments made at previous climate summits into tangible outcomes, according to the organizers.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said at the opening session that 90 percent of large renewable projects are now cheaper than fossil fuels, warning that "progress is nowhere near fast or fair enough."
Highlighting the severe economic fallout, Stiell said this year's "fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer." He called for delivering on adaptation finance, tripling global renewables capacity, and slashing super-polluting methane emissions.
COP31 President and Turkish Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum outlined several initiatives, including a "Climate Implementation Bridge" aimed at connecting climate projects with investors and a "35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge" seeking to raise electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035.
Meanwhile, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, who serves as COP31 president of negotiations, highlighted inequalities in access to climate finance, saying, "The countries that need climate finance the most are getting it the least."
To address this issue, Bowen pointed to an "Access to Finance Statement and Action Plan" for vulnerable nations, stressing that "finance must be disbursed faster. More simply. And more fairly." He promised a concrete, action-oriented final decision by the end of the conference.
The conference, which runs through Nov. 20, brings together government officials and representatives of international organizations, research institutions, businesses and non-governmental organizations from nearly 200 countries and regions, organizers said. ■
