COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, opened with a warning from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the climate crisis is outpacing political action. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries are trying to turn past pledges into funded projects, but a Carbon Brief analysis cited in the article found public climate finance for developing countries fell more than 70% after multi-year pledges expired in 2025. The US is absent for a second year, and several European leaders stayed home. The summit is pushing a 35-by-35 electrification pledge to raise electricity's share of final global energy use to 35% by 2035. Australia and Turkey are co-hosting. Leaders disagree on whether climate money should be grants or loans, and small island states are demanding easier access to funds. The outcome to watch is whether any concrete financing mechanism survives the negotiations.
