COP31 opens Monday in Antalya with a Turkish goal of 35% electrification of the global economy by 2035
The climate conference will have an unprecedented format, with Turkey running the event and Australia leading the negotiations; Lula is expected to arrive on Tuesday (10).
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
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The 31st United Nations climate change conference, COP31, begins this Monday (9) in Antalya, Turkey, Folha reported. For the first time, the summit will have shared leadership: the Turks are running the event, while Australia is expected to lead the diplomatic negotiations. The UN's climate arm expects about 60,000 participants.
The hosts' main bet is a new goal of reaching 35% electrification of the global economy by 2035, meaning expanding the use of electricity in activities that today rely on other energy sources, mainly fossil fuels, such as replacing combustion cars and gas stoves with electric versions. An agreement on this goal has been taking shape within the so-called Action Agenda, overseen by Turkey's environment minister, Murat Kurum, head of COP31. Unlike negotiated agreements, the measures in this agenda are voluntary.
In the formal negotiations, decisions are expected to put already agreed commitments into practice. For Claudio Angelo, of the Climate Observatory (Observatório do Clima), the most important issue is the format of the just transition mechanism, created at COP30 to help decarbonize the economy without leaving the most vulnerable behind. There are still disagreements, for example, over whether it will be tied to financial resources.
The summit ends Brazil's presidency, which began in Belém. According to the newspaper, there is hope that the roadmaps for the transition away from fossil fuels and for ending deforestation, released by Brazil, will at least be cited in the decision text being prepared by Australia. Australian minister Chris Bowen, who presides over the negotiations, said the document should address adaptation to extreme events and the temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C limit.
President Lula is expected to arrive in Turkey on Tuesday (10). There is expectation that the Brazilian plan to gradually abandon fossil energy will be announced during the visit; there is also speculation about a new contribution to the TFFF, a global forest fund launched by the government. Brazil's delegation is expected to be the second largest at COP31, behind only Turkey's, according to estimates by Itamaraty, Brazil's foreign ministry.