What to expect as world leaders gather for COP31

Résumé détaillé

With few sweeping new commitments expected, negotiators will tackle unfinished business on climate finance, fossil fuels, and the future of the COP process.

World leaders convene in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday for the United Nations’ 31st Conference of the Parties, or COP31, after another year of deadly climate disasters. Forest fires in Canada, Indonesia, and Brazil impacted millions of people. Heat waves contributed to more than 50,000 deaths in Europe. Floods prompted by the collapse of a melting glacier killed more than 1,500 people in Nepal and caused nearly $5 billion in damages.

And things may only get worse. This will be the first COP since the U.N.’s sobering report on the inevitability of breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming. That temperature target was a focal point for climate ambition even before the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, with scientists warning that exceeding that benchmark could push the planet past dangerous tipping points, triggering climatic changes that may be impossible to reverse.

Despite the urgent need for action, few expect COP31, co-hosted by Turkey and Australia, to produce another breakthrough like the Paris Agreement or COP28’s call to transition away from fossil fuels.

“There’s a whole bunch of decisions that have to be taken, but none of them on their own is going to make headlines,” said Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president of international strategies for the nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

This is in part due to the nature of the negotiations. This year’s event is being referred to as an “implementation” COP, where countries will focus on fleshing out existing commitments under the Paris Agreement rather than making sweeping new ones. The bulk of the official agenda aims to chip away at workstreams that began last year or at previous meetings.

But it’s also related to the state of the world. Although the historic “blue wave” in the midterm election means Democrats could curb the Trump administration’s rollback…

T…

Début de l'article, extrait de Grist. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.