COP31 opens in Turkey seeking to electrify a third of global economy
The UN's COP31 climate summit opened Monday in Antalya, Turkey, where hosts are asking countries to back a goal of electrifying more than a third of the global economy by 2035. The Trump administration is skipping the talks for a second year and is pushing more oil, gas and coal production.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
The two-week UN climate conference, COP31, opened Monday in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Turkey, and runs through Nov. 20. More than 100,000 people are expected, The Hindu reported. "The urgency of this moment must drive us forward," UN climate chief Simon Stiell said, calling progress "nowhere near fast enough," according to Reuters.
Why it matters
The Iran war has disrupted oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and lifted fuel prices worldwide. Some say that shows the benefits of renewables, Reuters reported. John Holdren, a former Obama science adviser, said people who once might have been embarrassed to argue for heavy fossil fuel use now feel "empowered to make that case." AI's surging power demand adds a new pressure, and Turkey will ask countries and companies to sign principles for sustainable AI.
More context
The host's goal: Turkey's presidency wants countries to sign a pledge to electrify more than a third of the global economy by 2035, up from about a fifth today. "We want people to feel the results of climate talks in daily life," COP31 President Murat Kurum said. Climate advocates criticized the pledge because it does not require the extra power to come from low-carbon sources, Reuters reported.
Where the US stands: The Trump administration is shunning the talks for the second year in a row and has encouraged maximum oil, gas and coal production to offset supply disruptions from the Iran war, Reuters reported. South Korea, India and Thailand have also leaned more on coal.
Weak spot: Stiell said renewables have already saved the global economy "hundreds of billions of dollars," but Reuters' report gives no figure or study behind that claim.
What's still unknown: How many countries sign the electrification pledge, and whether talks produce new money for poorer countries. A UN Environment Programme report in October said the world is already poised to pass the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold set in Paris in 2015.
3 listed sources
- Reuters (via Investing.com), COP31 summit leaders urge world to move faster on climate, Nov. 9, 2026
- Anadolu Agency (Turkish state-run), Morning Briefing: Nov. 9, Nov. 9, 2026
- The Hindu, Top news of the day: November 9, 2026
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Quotes and figures come from Reuters' report from Antalya; dates and attendance from Anadolu Agency and The Hindu. The UN's claims are attributed to the UN.
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