COP31 opens in Antalya: Can climate promises finally deliver results?

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell delivers opening remarks at COP 31, the latest UN climate summit, being held in Antalya, Türkiye.

Nearly 200 countries have arrived on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast for a climate summit with a different ambition: fewer grand declarations and more concrete decisions. With a powerful El Niño threatening to worsen extreme weather, negotiators face difficult questions over climate finance, clean energy and how to protect communities already living with the consequences of climate change.

COP31 opens: More than 90,000 people are expected in Antalya as pressure mounts to deliver on climate promises. The summit is set to close on Friday, 20 November.

Australia seeks early deal: Countries are being asked to start shaping a political agreement from the outset, rather than waiting until the final days.

Finance remains a sticking point: Developing countries are pressing for faster access to climate finance, while clean energy, adaptation and a just transition top the agenda.

Focus on human impacts: Food, Agriculture and Health Day spotlights growing risks and practical solutions.

The Mediterranean city of Antalya is no stranger to history. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans have all left their mark on this stretch of Türkiye’s southern coast. Now, as nearly 200 countries gather here for the latest UN climate summit, COP31 , the question is whether they can add a new chapter of their own by turning decades of climate promises into action.

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