UN demands fossil fuel action at COP31 | Morning News Bulletin 12 November 2026

Detailed summary

In this bulletin, UN urges stronger action on fossil fuels at the COP31 summit; Millions join Spain's first general strike in 14 years; and in sport, A shock departure for the NSW Women's State of Origin team.

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The UN Secretary-General has urged leaders at the COP31 summit to take immediate stronger action against fossil fuels.

World leaders gathering at the summit in Antalya, Türkiye, are expected to outline their climate priorities as negotiators try to revive efforts to shift away from fossil fuels and expand the use of electricity.

Nearly 200 countries are attending amid warnings the world remains on track to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5C warming target.

Outside the summit, climate activists protested what they described as false climate solutions, arguing technologies such as carbon capture and storage allow corporations to keep polluting.

"The corporations that the government are promoting certain technologies that is supposed to help climate actions. But those technologies, like CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage), I was talking about earlier, is actually not helping climate crisis, but it helps corporations to keep polluting us. So that’s why we came to protest."

Spain has been brought to a standstill by its first general strike in 14 years, with unions saying four million workers have taken part, as anger over soaring housing costs spills onto the streets.

Transport has been disrupted, factories shut down and protesters have clashed with police in cities including Madrid and Barcelona.

The walkout comes just over two weeks before a snap general election, with unions demanding urgent action on skyrocketing rents and the cost of living.

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