Key facts
- Turkey's proposal targets electricity reaching 35% of global energy consumption by 2035, up from a little over a fifth.
- The proposal does not require new power to be generated from clean energy sources, and no broader fossil fuel transition plan is settled.
- The United States has skipped the talks for a second year in a row after President Donald Trump withdrew it from climate cooperation.
- Scheduled Wednesday speakers include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine.
- A UN report last month found the world on course to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit set under the Paris Agreement.
World leaders were set to open two days of speeches at the COP31 climate summit in the Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya on Wednesday afternoon, with host Turkey pressing delegates from nearly 200 countries to make electrification the centerpiece of a final deal.
Turkey's proposal targets raising electricity's share of total global energy consumption to 35% by 2035 from a little over a fifth, which the host argues would in theory cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars, factories and buildings. The text does not require the added power to come from clean sources, and governments have not settled a broader plan to move away from coal, oil and gas.
Laurent Fabius, the former French prime minister who presided over the 2015 Paris conference and leads an advisory council of former COP presidents, told Reuters the leaders' speeches could give political impetus to the talks. "It is an opportunity for leaders to make some announcements, and more this time, to explain how they will implement, because the key word in Antalya is implementation," he said.
According to the COP31 schedule, Wednesday's speakers were expected to include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country hosted last year's talks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine. Speeches were due to continue through Thursday.