Antalya: United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell has urged countries to speed up negotiations at the COP31 climate conference in Türkiye, warning that disagreements over fossil fuels and energy policies could delay efforts to reach a common agreement. As the conference reaches its midpoint, governments are facing difficult discussions over how quickly the world should move away from coal, oil and natural gas.
Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called on countries to address the most challenging issues without allowing procedural disagreements to slow progress. He stressed that reaching a successful outcome would require compromise from all participating nations.
"There is no collective success without compromise from every party," Stiell said, urging governments to move quickly on the main negotiating issues and avoid tactical delays. The discussions have exposed differences between countries that want stronger commitments to reduce fossil fuel use and those concerned about the economic and energy security consequences of such measures. Saudi Arabia and Russia have opposed stronger international language that could constrain fossil fuel production and use, while India has raised concerns about measures that could restrict its development priorities and energy choices.
The disagreement reflects a wider challenge facing international climate negotiations. Many developing countries depend on fossil fuels to support their economies, industries and electricity needs. They argue that the transition to cleaner energy must take account of their financial resources, development requirements and national circumstances.
One of the major proposals under discussion is Türkiye's plan to increase electricity's share of global final energy consumption from approximately 23 per cent to 35 per cent by 2035. The initiative, known as the 35 by 35 target, aims to encourage countries to replace equipment powered directly by fossil fuels with electric alternatives. These include electric vehicles, heat pumps and industrial equipment that can operate using electricity instead of coal, oil or natural gas.
However, the proposal has raised concerns because it does not require the additional electricity to come from renewable or other clean energy sources. Environmental groups and climate campaigners argue that increasing electricity consumption alone will not deliver sufficient emissions reductions if countries continue to rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels to generate power. More than 50 countries have been reported as supporting the electrification initiative, although their positions and levels of commitment vary. Negotiators have yet to reach agreement on how the proposal should be reflected in the final conference outcome.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has also called for more ambitious climate action, warning that global efforts to reduce emissions are not progressing quickly enough. Speaking during the leaders' summit in Antalya on November 11, he urged governments to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels.
Guterres welcomed the global electrification initiative but stressed that the expansion of electricity use must be accompanied by cleaner power generation. He has warned that the world is on course to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold established under the 2015 Paris Agreement. A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme in October also highlighted the growing risks. Its 2026 Emissions Gap Report warned that the world is expected to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, although stronger action could still limit the extent of the overshoot and potentially bring temperatures back towards that level by the end of the century.
The report said global emissions would need to fall by 18 per cent by 2030 and 45 per cent by 2035, compared with 2025 levels, under its lowest overshoot pathway. It also warned that existing national climate pledges are not sufficient to achieve the necessary reductions. Climate finance remains another major issue at the conference. Developing countries are seeking financial assistance to expand renewable energy, improve electricity infrastructure and prepare for the effects of climate change, including floods, droughts and extreme weather.
Under the agreement reached at COP29 in Azerbaijan in 2024, developed countries are expected to take the lead in mobilising at least 300 billion dollars annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035. The agreement also calls for efforts to increase funding from all public and private sources to at least 1.3 trillion dollars annually by the same year. Some African negotiating groups are also seeking stronger support for climate adaptation, including a proposed allocation of at least 120 billion dollars annually by 2035. This remains a negotiating demand rather than an agreed financial commitment.
Brazil is meanwhile promoting a proposed global roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels, seeking to turn previous international commitments into more practical steps. At COP28 in Dubai in 2023, countries agreed on language calling for a transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. However, disagreements over how to implement that commitment continue. The absence of an official United States government delegation has added another political dimension to the negotiations. The United States is one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters and a major oil consumer. Its absence from the official conference negotiations has raised questions about international cooperation, although other American participants from outside the government may still attend COP31.
COP31 opened on November 9 in Antalya and is scheduled to conclude on November 20. Türkiye is hosting the conference, with Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum serving as COP31 President. Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is leading the negotiations. With several major issues still unresolved, countries are expected to step up discussions during the coming days. An initial draft political agreement is expected early next week, although its contents and the level of support it will receive remain uncertain.
The outcome of COP31 will be important in determining whether governments can turn existing climate promises into stronger action on emissions, energy transition and financial support. Stiell's appeal for compromise comes as countries face increasing pressure to agree on practical measures to address the climate crisis.