COP31 opens in Turkey with fossil-fuel inflation warning

· Climate · Turkey

The COP31 UN climate summit opened in Turkey with leaders under pressure to tackle the crisis after a year of punishing heatwaves in Europe, major wildfires in Indonesia and catastrophic floods in Nepal. UN climate chief Simon Stiell told the opening plenary that a global fossil fuel price crisis is "spreading inflation like a cancer". Turkey's presidency has centred the summit on a goal to electrify more than a third of the global economy by 2035, up from around a fifth today, and its chair called for turning agreements into action. South Korea's climate ambassador is attending as a presidential envoy.

Why it matters：COP31 must reconcile climate goals with an energy crisis and war-driven price shocks, shaping how fast the world moves to electrification.

Key points

  • The summit aims to electrify over a third of the global economy by 2035.
  • Stiell said fossil fuel prices are spreading inflation "like a cancer".
  • COP31 follows severe heatwaves, wildfires and floods.

Sources (original reporting)

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