Symbolic imageCOP31 opens in Antalya without US delegation as UN warns of record heat
Delegates from more than 190 countries began two weeks of climate talks in Antalya on Monday. The US sent no delegation, and UN chief Guterres said a new age of climate extremes has begun.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell told the opening plenary that a fossil fuel price crisis is “spreading inflation like a cancer”; the Guardian links this to the Iran war and disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. In Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization warned that 2027 could become the warmest year on record, amplified by El Niño, which it expects to be the strongest since 1950. Its report puts January to September 2026 about 1.47C above pre-industrial levels, with a margin of 0.13C.
Electrification instead of declarations
Turkey's Murat Kurum presides over the conference and Australia's Chris Bowen leads the negotiations, a split of roles that is a first. Bowen said there would be no surprises and no lengthy political declarations. Their main aim is to raise electricity's share of final energy use from about 22% to 35% by 2035, placed on the voluntary action agenda rather than in the consensus talks. Climate advocates criticise that the pledge does not require the extra power to be low-carbon, the Jerusalem Post reports.