COP31 in Antalya acknowledges 1.5°C target is unattainable — ABC News Australia

The UN climate summit COP31 in Antalya has for the first time acknowledged that it will not be possible to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the long term. The central initiative of the negotiations will be a voluntary target to achieve 35% electrification worldwide by 2035, ABC News reports.

Electrification target

Australia and Turkey are co-chairs of this year's UN climate change conference. Australian Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said at the opening that climate change is already a reality for billions of people. Among its manifestations, he mentioned the destruction of glaciers in Nepal, heat-related deaths in Europe, and the intensification of El Niño.

According to the International Energy Agency, electricity currently accounts for 23%, and under current policies this figure could rise to 30% by 2035. Therefore, the voluntary target of 35% only moderately exceeds the projected trajectory.

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Financing and fossil fuels

Turkey and Australia intend to focus primarily on implementing measures that have already been agreed rather than setting new ambitious targets. Considerable attention will be given to increasing financial support for poorer countries to adapt energy systems and overcome the consequences of climate change. The measures also include reducing methane emissions, particularly in the oil and gas sectors and waste management.

At the same time, reducing the use of fossil fuels was not formally included on the summit agenda. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that this year's price instability in the fossil fuel market had caused a global shock, hit households, and intensified inflation.

Bowen noted that before the Paris Climate Agreement, the world was heading towards warming of nearly 4°C, while current forecasts have moved closer to 2.6°C. Turkey, which promotes accelerated electrification, is Europe's largest producer of coal-fired electricity: around 55% of its electricity is generated from coal and natural gas.