ANKARA (dpa-AFX) - Against a backdrop of record-breaking temperatures, escalating climate impacts and growing energy insecurity, the annual UN climate conference has kicked off in the Turkish city of Antalya on Monday.
With a powerful El Niño expected to intensify climate impacts further, representatives of more than 190 countries have gathered for COP31, that runs up to November 20.
The United States, one of the biggest emitters of CO2, is not attending the conference, marking the second consecutive year of a U.S. federal boycott under the Trump administration following its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
While the federal government is absent, an alternative delegation of more than 100 U.S. state and local leaders - including governors, mayors, and climate alliance members organized by groups - is participating in the summit.
The United States remains one of the world's largest CO2 emitters, accounted for more than 11 percent of global emissions, alongside major polluters like China and India.
Catastrophic floods, deadly heatwaves and prolonged droughts have been a hallmark of 2026, a year in which scientists confirmed that the world is on track to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C warming threshold.
COP stands for Conference of the Parties, in this case, the countries that are parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. These annual gatherings allow governments to assess progress and negotiate how to tackle a challenge that no nation can solve alone.
The talks produced the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, when countries committed to keeping global warming well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
COPs now extend well beyond government negotiations. Businesses, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, young people and civil society increasingly participate, reflecting the scale of the challenge.
Bringing together heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society representatives from around the world, COP serves as the primary platform for negotiating and advancing collective action to combat climate change.
A COP is often judged by the agreement reached at the end, sometimes after days of difficult discussions and last-minute compromises.
Any final text of a COP must be agreed by consensus.
This year, Turkey is hosting and presiding the conference, while Australia is leading the negotiations, working closely with Pacific Island countries.
Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen will be acting as leader of negotiations.
The summit places particular emphasis on implementation, with Turkey promoting initiatives on clean energy, food security, resilient cities, greener industries, oceans and waste reduction.
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