Climate summit begins as world faces record heat and extreme weather

Summarised from 5 outlets · 9 reports · Updated 9 Nov, 08:43 · Archive

The Cop31 climate summit starts Monday in Turkey with nearly 190 countries attending as global temperatures continue to break records.

The Cop31 summit begins Monday in Antalya, Turkey, with scores of world leaders and representatives from nearly 190 countries gathering for high-stakes negotiations on climate change. The World Meteorological Organization has reported that heat is accumulating in Earth's systems at an accelerating rate, with the imbalance between incoming solar energy and energy leaving Earth reaching its highest level since monitoring began. The average surface temperature for January to September 2026 was about 1.47°C above preindustrial levels, and 2026 is on track to be one of the four warmest years on record. Ocean temperatures have hit monthly records, with the ocean absorbing 90% of excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases and experiencing a tenth successive year of record heat.

The summit takes place as countries grapple with the strongest El Niño weather system on record, supercharged by fossil fuels, which is expected to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and damage costing trillions of dollars. Temperatures have broken records this year, surpassing the 1.5°C limit above preindustrial levels that was the target of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. UN Secretary General António Guterres said: 'We have entered a new age of climate extremes. A supersized El Niño is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade climate change.'

The host of Cop31 has said the summit must produce 'a tangible outcome that people can see is real'. Friction is expected between wealthy and developing nations over who pays for the impacts of the climate crisis and the slow pace of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Adão Soares Barbosa, chair of the Least Developed Countries negotiating group of 44 nations, said that 'keeping 1.5°C within reach, delivering accessible and predictable climate finance, strengthening adaptation, and addressing loss and damage are not political choices but matters of survival'.

The US will have no official government presence at the talks for the second year in a row, reflecting the Trump administration's dismissal of the climate crisis. About 20 members of Congress attending the summit have been denied usual state department assistance. Democratic congressman Sean Casten said: 'We have a lot of rebuilding to do. It hinges on Congress to maintain diplomatic continuities at Cop and minimize the damage until adults are back in the White House.'

The UK's energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, told The Independent that Britain's participation at Cop31 is 'in the national interest', citing record heatwaves, wildfires and school closures over the summer. The conference will be formally presided over by Australia, following a compromise reached last year over competing bids to host the negotiations. Most world leaders will arrive Wednesday and Thursday for the leaders' summit segment.

How it is being reported

• COP31 opens with leaders under pressure to tackle climate crisisThe COP31 climate talks kicked off Monday, November 9, with an early fight over money as the UN's chief urged world leaders to "get serious" about tackling the crisis after a year of devastating weather extremes. Antonio Guterres made his plea as thousands of participants descended on a sprawling expo centre in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya for the UN's annual two-week climate conference.France 24 · 9 Nov, 11:07
• U.N. climate talks begin today. Here are 3 things to knowCountries are gathering in Antalya, Turkey, for the annual U.N. climate conference. Many are frustrated with the lack of focus on fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.NPR · 9 Nov, 10:00
• Turkey pushes for transition at COP31 as coal burnsThe host of this year's UN climate summit remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels as it tries to inspire a global switch to clean energy.DW News · 9 Nov, 08:31
• ‘A new age of climate extremes’: Earth accumulating heat at accelerating rateIncreased heat will supercharge extreme weather events, warns UN agency as Cop31 climate summit begins Heat is accumulating in Earth’s systems at an accelerating rate, the UN’s weather agency has reported as the Cop31 climate change summit begins in Turkey, with 2026 on track to be one of the four warmest years on record. The imbalance between incoming energy from the sun and energy leaving Earth reached its highest level since monitoring began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its State of the Global Climate update. Continue reading...The Guardian · 9 Nov, 07:30
• Cop31 live: world leaders gather for crucial climate crisis talksUN climate summit will focus on how to implement the targets needed to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions What is at stake at the UN climate summit and what can it achieve? Key players at the climate talks Among the 70,000 registered attenders at today’s Cop will be civil society groups, Indigenous people from around the world, lawmakers from many countries, representatives of subnational governments, businesspeople and investors working on clean energy - and a number of fossil fuel lobbyists , whose repeated presence and influence at the annual “conference of the party” meetings of the…The Guardian · 9 Nov, 07:25
• UK weather extremes show why climate action and Cop31 are vital, minister saysExclusive : Ahead of the crucial Cop31 summit in Turkey, the secretary of state for energy and net zero – Miatta Fahnbulleh – tells The Independent that attending the talks ‘is about Britain’s national interest’ as climate change is ‘here, in Britain, now’The Independent · 9 Nov, 06:11
• Democrats to attend Cop31 climate talks boosted by midterms and eager to make up for Trump-era setbacksUS government will have no official presence at UN’s annual climate summit, this year’s Cop31 held in Antalya, Turkey The US will be absent from key UN climate talks that start on Monday, a further sign of Donald Trump’s scornful dismissal of the climate crisis. But Democrats’ crushing win in the US midterm elections has delivered a timely shot of optimism to countries now looking beyond the Trump era of climate obstruction. For the second year in a row , there will be no official US government presence at the annual climate summit, this year known as Cop31 and held in Antalya, Turkey. While…The Guardian · 9 Nov, 06:00
• Cop31 must deliver climate progress that people can see is real, host saysHigh-stakes talks involving 190 countries begin on Monday as world grapples with El Niño supercharged by fossil fuels The Cop31 summit must produce progress, “a tangible outcome ... that people can see is real”, its host has said as scores of world leaders and representatives of close to 190 countries gather in Turkey for the UN climate talks. The high-stakes meeting begins on Monday, as countries around the world grapple with the strongest El Niño weather system on record , supercharged by fossil fuels, which is set to take hundreds of thousands of lives and cause damage costing trillions…Guardian World · 8 Nov, 13:24
• Cop31: what is at stake at the UN climate summit and what can it achieve?Delegates from more than 190 countries are gathering in Turkey for climate talks, but the US will be absent As the planet faces unprecedented human-caused global heating, heads of government are meeting for the next fortnight for the latest round of climate talks. We ask why it matters and what is likely to be achieved. Continue reading...The Guardian · 8 Nov, 11:00

In this story: Turkey · Australia · World Meteorological Organization · United Nations · Paris · Antalya · António Guterres · Donald Trump

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