COP31 debate global electrification and fossil end

A 31st United Nations climate conference (COP31) in Turkey held the second day discussing the promotion of global electrification and abandonment of fossil fuels, also adopting the work agenda.

The president of the conference, Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum, celebrated the “positive” start of negotiations after the adoption of the work agenda, a procedure that, in previous UN meetings, caused several days of impasse.

“ We want to make this an implementation COP and make decisions that change things,” said Murat Kurum, who again called for cooperation to tackle a global problem.

The second day of COP31, dedicated to energy and transport, was marked by calls to speed up the transition, not only to reduce emissions, but also to protect economies from the volatility of oil and gas prices, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, for example.

“ In just over ten years, renewable energy has already exceeded coal in global electricity generation,” UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change, Simon Still, said, who described this progress as “unimaginable when the Paris Agreement was signed” in 2015.

The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, argued that the current energy crisis has changed the priorities of governments. “For the first time in a long time, the energy security objectives and the transition to clean energies are closely aligned,” he said.

It also noted that sales of electric cars outside China have increased by 60% in the last nine months and that there are currently 90 gigawatts of nuclear power under construction, the highest level in four decades.

Turkey and Australia, which co-chair the conference, advocate the objective of increasing electricity participation in global energy consumption from today's 23% to 35% by 2035.

The proposal faces the resistance of hydrocarbon producing countries, which oppose the goal of electrification by directly involving the exclusive use of renewable and nuclear energy sources.

Fatih Birol stated that this commitment, in any case, can send a clear signal to the markets that “electricity is the future.”.

The day was also marked by Brazil's presentation of a roadmap to help countries gradually eliminate oil, coal and gas. The initiative aims to translate into concrete measures the commitment made in Dubai in 2023, when it was agreed for the first time to initiate the transition away from fossil fuels.

The document does not establish binding obligations but offers tools to evaluate the energy dependence of each country and develop strategies adapted to its reality.

“We don’t need any more promises. We need plans,” said former US Secretary of State John Kerry during the presentation of the proposal, which the UN Secretary-General supported.

The mobility problems that have existed in Antalia since the opening of COP31 on Monday have worsened with the traffic restrictions implemented before the arrival of the Heads of State and Government. The President of Brazil was one of those who arrived today for the summit of world leaders on Wednesday.

Turkish authorities suspended classes on Wednesday and Thursday to reduce traffic during the meeting of leaders of those days.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg attended the conference, returning to a UN climate summit for the first time since Glasgow (United Kingdom) in 2021.

And he criticised the fact that, after decades of negotiations, emissions continue to increase.