World leaders and climate officials have called for faster action against global warming as the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP31, opened in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday, November 9, amid rising temperatures, extreme weather events and growing international uncertainty.

The two-week conference brings together governments and other stakeholders at a time when climate change is competing for attention with conflicts, inflation, energy insecurity and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.

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United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned that existing efforts were falling short of what was needed to address the climate crisis.

“The urgency of this moment must drive us forward,” Stiell said, adding that progress so far was “nowhere near fast enough”.

A United Nations Environment Programme report published in October warned that the world was already on course to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold established under the 2015 Paris Agreement, even under the most favourable scenarios. It called for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Tina Stege, COP31 climate envoy for the Marshall Islands and regional envoy for Oceania, said the consequences of global warming were particularly immediate for Pacific island communities.

“For Pacific Island countries, this is not an abstract discussion about temperature targets. It’s about people, it’s about communities, it is about the places we call home,” she told reporters.

A United Nations report released on Monday also indicated that 2026 was on course to become one of the four hottest years on record.

The year has been marked by severe heatwaves across Western Europe and a glacier collapse in Nepal, which triggered devastating flooding that killed more than 1,450 people, with thousands still reported missing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country hoped to use its role as conference host to secure practical outcomes rather than another round of unfulfilled climate commitments.

“Our goal is to make this summit a platform where concrete results are produced, where countries turn their pledges into action, because it is no longer time to make promises that remain on paper,” Erdogan said, according to a transcript released by his office.

One of the major priorities of Turkey’s COP31 presidency is a proposal to electrify more than a third of the global economy by 2035, compared with about a fifth currently.

The presidency is seeking support from countries through a proposed international pledge.

The initiative is intended to accelerate the transition away from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, heating systems, cooking equipment and industrial processes, potentially reducing emissions across several sectors.

COP31 President Murat Kurum said the goal was to make climate policies produce tangible benefits in people’s everyday lives.

“We want people to feel the results of climate talks in daily life: in buildings that use less energy, in clean public transport, in energy they can afford and in new jobs,” Kurum said.

However, climate advocates have raised concerns that the proposed electrification target does not require the additional electricity to come from low-carbon sources.

The debate could become an early test of whether electrification without a corresponding clean-energy transition should count as meaningful climate progress.

The conference is also taking place against a backdrop of geopolitical conflicts that have exposed the economic risks of dependence on fossil fuels.

The US-Israeli war with Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have disrupted energy markets, contributing to higher fuel costs and inflation.

While climate campaigners have called for greater investment in renewable energy, some countries with domestic oil, gas and coal reserves have moved to expand production.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, which is not attending the climate talks for the second consecutive year, has encouraged policies aimed at maximising domestic fossil fuel production. South Korea, India, Thailand and other Asian countries have also increased their reliance on coal or taken steps to expand coal-fired electricity generation.

John Holdren, a Harvard University academic who served as science adviser to former US President Barack Obama, said the energy disruptions had strengthened arguments for continued fossil fuel use.

“A lot of people who previously might have been embarrassed to argue for continuing very high use of fossil fuel are now feeling empowered to make that case,” he said.

Despite the renewed push for fossil fuels in some countries, renewable energy deployment has continued to grow, supported partly by exports of relatively affordable clean-energy technology from China.

Stiell described renewable energy as a central part of the response to energy insecurity, arguing that the recent volatility in fossil fuel markets had demonstrated the economic value of alternative sources.

“This year’s fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer,” he said.

He added that renewable energy installations had already saved the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is another issue expected to shape discussions at COP31.

The growing energy requirements of data centres and other AI infrastructure are increasing electricity demand and raising concerns about additional greenhouse gas emissions.

Turkey is seeking support for a separate pledge setting out principles for the sustainable development and deployment of artificial intelligence.

The proposed initiative is aimed at encouraging governments, businesses and other institutions to consider the environmental consequences of AI expansion.

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With climate targets under pressure from geopolitical tensions, energy demand and competing economic priorities, COP31 faces the challenge of turning international commitments into measurable action.