QAZAQ GREEN. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said on Monday, November 9, at the opening plenary of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP-31) in Antalya, Türkiye, that progress on climate policy cannot be called either sufficient or fair, the UN News Centre reports.

Stiell urged countries to go beyond setting targets and to “force decisions” that can change conditions on the ground. “No COP is a magic bullet. No single event can bridge the gap between science and reality,” he said.

A Test for Negotiators

Unlike summits dominated by one landmark agreement, COP-31 is focused on putting existing commitments into practice. Turkish Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Murat Kurum is presiding, while Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, will oversee the negotiations.

Kurum told delegates that decisions must take shape in city infrastructure, on farmland and on factory production lines, and that families should feel the effects in lower electricity bills.

Bowen announced that the final outcome will be worked out throughout the conference rather than in its closing days. The aim is to agree on practical measures that speed up climate action, although countries still disagree about how ambitious the result should be. “Our job is to bridge those differences and adopt the most ambitious, results-oriented decision that allows us to reach consensus,” Bowen explained.

Finance is expected to be one of the toughest topics, as developing countries want faster access to funds for adaptation and greener development. Negotiators also need to advance agreements on cutting harmful emissions and on a just transition.

About 90,000 people have arrived in Antalya, and representatives of nearly 200 countries have gathered to agree on concrete steps. The summit is due to conclude on Friday, November 20.