COP31 climate talks open in Türkiye with a dispute over money for poorer nations

The United Nations’ annual climate summit, COP31, opened in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November, with countries already divided over how much time to give to money for poorer nations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders to “get serious” by cutting emissions faster, moving away from fossil fuels and delivering the finance that vulnerable countries need. “We have entered a new age of climate extremes,” he said in a statement.

The dispute over money

Negotiators argued late into 8 November over demands from developing countries to put climate finance on the formal agenda. Greenpeace said rich countries were resisting discussion of a plan agreed at last year’s COP30 in Brazil on how they should fund poorer nations. African countries had sought a separate agenda item on tripling money for adaptation, such as sea walls and drought-resistant crops; it was not made one.

A senior European Union official said before the summit that there would be no political will for new funding pledges. The talks come amid high oil prices, the US war with Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

What is on the table

Türkiye is presiding over the summit, while Australia leads the negotiations under a power-sharing deal that ended a dispute over who would host it. Türkiye wants countries to raise electricity’s share of the world’s energy use from about 20% to 35% by 2035.

The World Meteorological Organization says 2026 has continued a run of exceptional heat, melting ice and rising seas. COP28 in Dubai in 2023 agreed to move away from fossil fuels, but COP30 ended without naming them after oil producers objected.

The United States has not sent government officials, though a group of US lawmakers is attending. The talks run for two weeks.