UN Urges World Leaders to Turn Climate Pledges into Action at COP31

The United Nations has challenged world leaders to move beyond climate commitments and accelerate practical action on renewable energy, climate adaptation funding and emissions reduction, warning that vulnerable countries continue to bear the heaviest consequences of global warming.

Speaking at the opening of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, on Monday, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, said governments must translate existing climate targets and national commitments into measurable action.

Stiell stressed that the conference should focus on removing barriers preventing developing countries from accessing promised climate finance and turning existing commitments into practical results.

He said progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement had been too slow and uneven, arguing that the world could no longer afford to concentrate only on setting targets and providing political direction without ensuring implementation.

The UN official noted that about 90 per cent of large-scale renewable energy projects were now cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. He also observed that climate adaptation was increasingly being incorporated into mainstream development planning, although he warned that these gains remained inadequate compared with the scale of the crisis.

Stiell said coordinated action to reduce methane emissions and accelerate electrification could lower projected global warming by as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius.

On climate finance, he called for concrete arrangements to deliver commitments made at the previous climate negotiations in Baku, including the mobilisation of at least $300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035. He also urged countries to scale up overall public and private climate financing to $1.3 trillion annually.

Citing disasters in the Himalayas and the growing threat of an intense El Niño phenomenon, Stiell warned that climate-related risks were increasing, with vulnerable communities paying a disproportionate price despite contributing relatively little to the problem.

COP31 President and Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, said climate change could no longer be treated as an isolated environmental issue.

He noted that its effects were increasingly connected to food security, energy supply, migration, public health, urban development and economic stability.

According to Kurum, droughts, floods, water shortages and extreme heat were disrupting agricultural production, industrial activities and livelihoods across national borders.

He said Türkiye and Australia would work to bridge differences between developed and developing countries, strengthen international cooperation and improve access to climate finance and technology, particularly for nations most exposed to climate risks.

Kurum identified dialogue, consensus and action as the three principles guiding the Turkish presidency, insisting that decisions reached at COP31 must translate into measurable improvements in people’s lives.

The Turkish presidency also highlighted its 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, which aims to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035.

The initiative covers renewable energy development, electricity grids, energy storage, efficiency, clean transportation and green industrial growth.

The discussions at COP31 are expected to test whether governments can turn existing climate commitments into practical measures, particularly in financing adaptation and accelerating the transition to cleaner energy.