The Cop31 UN climate summit begins next week in Antalya, Turkey, under a joint presidency shared between coal exporter Australia and coal consumer Turkey. The conference aims to focus on clean electricity and emission targets, despite taking place amid severe geopolitical tensions and a backdrop of global fossil fuel reliance.
A Compromise Presidency and Geopolitical Challenges
The joint presidency arose from a last-minute compromise at the Cop30 summit in Belém, following a deadlock between Australia and Turkey under UNFCCC rules. Australia will chair the formal negotiations covering the just transition, the loss and damage fund, climate finance, and emissions cuts. Turkey will manage the action agenda, focusing on global electrification, waste reduction, and methane initiatives supported by Turkey’s first lady, Emine Erdoğan.
The summit unfolds against a difficult geopolitical backdrop marked by conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, and Gaza, economic uncertainty from Washington, and the impacts of AI. However, positive developments include recent election results in the US and Brazil, alongside outgoing UN secretary-general António Guterres approaching his final climate summit.
Fossil Fuel Reliance Under Scrutiny
The host countries’ heavy reliance on fossil fuels will face intense scrutiny during the negotiations. Australia’s Cop31 president of negotiations, Chris Bowen, told Environment | The Guardian in June that the nation could shift from fossil fuel exports toward clean electricity, though he declined to set an end date for coal. Meanwhile, coal remains Turkey’s primary power source, and the nation’s national climate plan permits an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Frontline organizations from around the world have urged the presidencies to commit to ending coal mining and use. Mehmet Dalkanat from the Afşin-Elbistan Platform for the Protection of Life and Nature in Turkey highlighted local victories against plant expansion, telling Environment | The Guardian that the Cop31 presidencies must build on such milestones to accelerate the phaseout of coal and deliver a just transition.
