{"id":15609,"date":"2026-11-12T02:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T02:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15609"},"modified":"2026-11-12T02:13:38","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T02:13:38","slug":"world-leaders-urge-stronger-and-faster-action-at-un-climate-talks-over-inadequate-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15609","title":{"rendered":"World leaders urge stronger and faster action at UN climate talks over inadequate response"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ANTALYA, Turkey \u2014 It’s time to act decisively and urgently to curb global warming, which is wreaking havoc with deadly floods, heat waves and other disasters, the United Nations chief told world leaders Wednesday as formal talks began at the U.N. climate conference in Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the truth. Now we must act on it because climate action is more than a fight over a number or a thermometer,” U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said in an opening speech. \u201cWe are in the fight for our lives and our children\u2019s future.”<\/p>\n

But top leaders of the world\u2019s three biggest polluting nations \u2014 China, the United States and India, together responsible for more than half of the world\u2019s carbon dioxide emissions \u2014 skipped the summit, known as COP31.<\/p>\n

Their absence left a handful of national leaders and U.N. officials to press for action as a new report warned of a widening gap between countries\u2019 climate pledges and actual emissions cuts.<\/p>\n

Scientists say global warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. Limiting warming to that threshold was a goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement and remains a focus of international negotiations.<\/p>\n

Guterres outlines priorities for climate negotiations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guterres outlined a framework for climate negotiations, saying they must prioritize ending fossil fuel reliance, adapting to a warmer world, increasing financial support for poorer countries bearing the brunt of climate change, and promoting cooperation over conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need countries to agree on everything. But we do need them to cooperate on the things no country can solve alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But addressing climate change has been overshadowed by wars, inflation and geopolitical conflicts, Brazil’s President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva said. He pledged to protect the Amazon, the world\u2019s largest rainforest, and urged world leaders to work together for a just, sustainable future.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil is back to defend the continuity of a healthy planet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leaders of some major polluting nations absent<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 70 world leaders and senior government officials are speaking at the summit, though what can be accomplished remains uncertain in the absence of leaders from key nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a disgrace that just one of the seven G7 heads of state and only a handful of G20 leaders are attending this summit,\u201d said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think tank. \u201cThe world\u2019s biggest economies should be leading the response to the climate crisis, not leaving it to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Han Zheng, vice president of China, speaks during a plenary session at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The United States, the world\u2019s second-largest polluter after China, is absent from the talks for the second consecutive year. President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has targeted offshore wind projects and removed rules limiting power plant emissions.<\/p>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended, but many leaders of European countries stayed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than half of the top leaders of the EU countries are not showing up at the leaders\u2019 summit,\u201d Climate Action Network Europe Director Chiara Martinelli told The Associated Press. \u201cIf Europe wants to help steer the global transition, it needs to show up and be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conference colored by fears over speed of climate action<\/strong><\/p>\n

The gap between nations’ climate plans and action on the ground is widening, according to an annual climate change performance index published Wednesday by Germanwatch and the New Climate Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, current collective efforts are not enough to prevent catastrophic climate change. But we see clear potential for improvement,\u201d said Jan Burck of Germanwatch.<\/p>\n

Ranking among the worst performers in limiting emissions were COP31 host Turkey and Australia, which is leading the negotiations.<\/p>\n

The talks come as the war in Iran has driven up global prices for oil, gasoline and products such as fertilizers and pesticides. Those increases have prompted governments to rethink energy policies and investment in renewable sources such as wind and solar.<\/p>\n

Past talks have been criticized for producing promises that later went unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

Delegates at the 2023 conference in Dubai agreed to transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, the main drivers of climate change. But subsequent conferences in Azerbaijan and Brazil yielded little agreement on how to reduce their use. Last year\u2019s conference in Brazil produced a compromise deal pledging more money to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change.<\/p>\n

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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap ANTALYA, Turkey \u2014 It’s time to act decisively and urgently to curb global warming, which is wreaking havoc with deadly floods, heat waves and other disasters, the United Nations chief told world leaders Wednesday as formal talks began…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t