Earth Today | COP31 to test global resolve on climate action

TURNING CLIMATE promises into action and keeping warming as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible are anticipated to dominate the two weeks of climate talks (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, even as countries navigate geopolitical tensions that could hinder consensus.

This is according to information out of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with local pundits from Jamaica concurring.

“COP31 will provide an important opportunity to assess whether countries are turning their climate commitments into action, from expanding clean electricity and reducing dependence on fossil fuels to halting deforestation and preparing for climate shocks. On the negotiations front, advancing preparations for the Second Global Stocktake, expected to conclude in 2028, will be a major priority,” said a November 5 story from the UNEP.

Another “defining issue”, it said, is how countries respond to the at least temporary rise in temperatures to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“COP31 will test whether governments are prepared to align policies, investments, and international cooperation around a pathway that limits overshoot and enables temperatures to return below 1.5 degrees Celsius as quickly as possible,” the story noted.

Sustainable development specialist Eleanor Jones agreed. At the same time, she said that, from the need to deliver financing to vulnerable countries to helping communities adapt to warming, the time to act is now; and that decision-makers must begin to really see the people affected and to act in their best interests.

“We don’t pay attention to the individual and community level. The suffering that is taking place is widespread. When we think of what happened in Nepal, for example, and the number of lives lost and damage suffered, all of these are major issues,” she told The Gleaner.

“What we are seeing is unprecedented climate impacts and suffering at the community level; and it is really distressing that there is such lack of care … . Sure, there are plans to do things locally, but the conversation needs to be elevated and we need action,” she added.

The UNEP story also highlighted the transition to clean energy, methane cuts and tackling waste as being among the issues that could dominate the talks, even as countries are tested on whether they can work together.

Indi Mclymont Lafayette, head of Change Communications Limited and a longstanding climate justice advocate, said that, while there is no doubt the issues deserve urgent attention, she remains cautious about the outcomes that will emerge from COP.

“I agree that these issues should be treated as priorities, but I am not convinced that the necessary action will follow. I am not seeing the change, the impact, the momentum. In some areas, progress has stalled and there is often a gap between what should happen and what actually happens. So, I do question how much impact can realistically be achieved. Nevertheless, these are issues that deserve continued attention and priority,” she said.

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