PM Shehbaz to leave for Antalya today, will address COP31 tomorrow

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be undertaking a visit to Antalya in Turkiye from Nov 10-12 to participate in the Leaders’ Summit of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

According to the Foreign Office (FO), the premier will address the summit on Nov 11, during which he will urge the global community to take concrete actions to address the threat posed by climate change to the planet.

He will highlight “Pakistan’s steps towards rapid solarisation and expansion of its renewable energy capacity, as part of its transition towards a cleaner and more resilient economy, along with its efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness and early-warning systems”, the FO statement said.

The premier will also call for predictable, adequate and accessible climate finance for developing countries to strengthen their resilience and pursue sustainable development, it added.

Moreover, the prime minister will attend a high-level roundtable meeting convened by the presidency of COP31 on the sidelines of the Leaders’ Summit, and hold bilateral meetings with the Turkish leadership as well as several other world leaders.

“Prime minister’s participation in COP31 Leaders’ Summit is an expression of Pakistan’s strong support for the climate agenda, and will provide Pakistan with an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment towards working closely with the international community to address the climate crisis,” the FO statement said.

The COP31 climate talks kicked off on Monday 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.

The summit comes after a year of punishing heatwaves in Europe, major wildfires in Indonesia and catastrophic floods in Nepal, with an exceptionally strong El Nino weather phenomenon fuelling more climate chaos.

The COP31 opening ceremony opened an hour-and-a-half late without explanation.

Negotiators had been locked in discussions late on Sunday over demands by developing nations to include items on climate finance in the official agenda.

“This has already been a difficult start for COP31,” said Jasper Inventor, head of Greenpeace’s COP31 delegation.

Under UN climate agreements, developed countries, which are historically responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, have provided financial support to help developing nations adapt to climate impacts and transition to cleaner energy. But poorer countries say the sums remain insufficient.

Inventor said developed countries were “taking a hard line” over whether to include a platform, agreed at COP30 in Brazil last year, aimed at discussing how wealthy nations should provide funds to developing nations.

African countries are also pushing for the agenda to include discussions on the tripling of adaptation finance, which aims to help poorer nations pay for measures such as building sea walls or planting drought-resistant crops.

But that point was not made a standalone agenda item.

A senior European Union official warned last week that there would be “no political will” for extra funding pledges at COP31.

Observers say few major breakthroughs are expected at COP31 as countries grapple with an oil price shock and geopolitical tensions fuelled by the US war on Iran and Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

As negotiators tussled in Antalya, the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels.

The EU’s climate monitor warned last week that 2026 would most likely be the second-hottest year ever recorded, while scientists say 2027 could top the chart, fuelled by El Nino.

The long-term outlook is bleak: the UN warned in September that global temperatures were on course to exceed 1.5 degrees Celcius above preindustrial levels, breaching the most ambitious threshold set by the Paris Agreement.