The 31st United Nations Climate Conference (COP31), held in Turkey, marked the second day of discussions focused on promoting global electrification and phasing out fossil fuels, while also adopting the working agenda.
The conference president, Turkey’s Environment Minister Murat Kurum, celebrated the start of the negotiations as “positive” after adopting the working agenda, a procedure that in previous UN meetings had caused several days of deadlock.
“We want this to be a COP of implementation and to make decisions that change things,” declared Murat Kurum, who again urged cooperation to tackle a global problem.
The second day of COP31, dedicated to energy and transport, was marked by calls to accelerate the transition, not only to reduce emissions but also to shield economies from volatility in oil and gas prices, as did, for example, UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“In a little over ten years, renewable energy has already surpassed coal in global electricity generation,” highlighted the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, who described this progress as “unimaginable when the Paris Agreement was signed” in 2015.
Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), argued that the current energy crisis has shifted governments’ priorities. “For the first time in a very long time, energy security goals and the transition to clean energy are closely aligned,” he said.
He also noted that electric vehicle sales outside China have risen 60% in the last nine months and that there are currently 90 gigawatts of nuclear energy under construction, the highest level in four decades.
Turkey and Australia, co-chairing the conference, advocate the goal of increasing the share of electricity in global energy consumption from the current 23% to 35% by 2035.
The proposal faces resistance from hydrocarbon-producing countries, which oppose the electrification target as it would imply the exclusive use of renewable and nuclear energy sources.
Fatih Birol stated that this commitment, in any case, could send a clear signal to markets that “electricity is the future.”
The day was also marked by Brazil’s presentation of a roadmap to help countries gradually eliminate oil, coal, and gas. The initiative aims to translate into concrete measures the commitment made in Dubai in 2023, when it was first agreed to begin the transition away from fossil fuels.
The document does not set binding obligations but provides tools to assess each country’s energy dependence and to develop strategies tailored to its reality.
“We don’t need more promises. We need plans,” said former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during the presentation of the proposal, which was supported by the UN Secretary-General.
The mobility problems in Antalya since the opening of COP31 on Monday were worsened today by traffic restrictions implemented ahead of the arrival of heads of state and government. The President of Brazil was among those arriving today for the world leaders’ summit on Wednesday.
Turkish authorities suspended classes on Wednesday and Thursday to reduce traffic during the leaders’ meeting on those days.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg attended the conference, returning to an UN climate summit for the first time since Glasgow (United Kingdom) in 2021.
And she criticized the fact that, after decades of negotiations, emissions continue to rise.
