COP chair Turkey calls for turning agreements into action | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News - NHKニュース

This year's UN climate change conference, COP31, has kicked off in Turkey. A representative from the chair country has called for cooperation in turning past agreements into action to fight climate change.

The annual conference started on Monday in Antalya, southern Turkey.

The participants are expected to discuss issues such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change.

Murat Kurum, who is Turkey's environment, urbanization and climate change minister, delivered an opening statement. He called on countries to cooperate in turning the agreements made at the past COP meetings into concrete measures against climate change.

Kurum said, "Let us open the way together: from dialogue to consensus, from consensus to action, from action to implementation, and from implementation to people's lives." He also said, "If we are to share a future, we must share the responsibility for it."

The Paris Agreement pledges efforts to limit the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The World Meteorological Organization on Monday released an estimate that the global average temperature for January-September 2026 was about 1.47 degrees above the pre-industrial average.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, "We have entered a new age of climate extremes.”

At COP31, Australia is serving as president of negotiations to lead discussions between governments.

The question now is whether the country and chair Turkey will be able to cooperate in proceeding with negotiations.