The United Nations COP31 climate conference opens in Antalya, Turkey from November 9 to 20, 2026, bringing together representatives from nearly 200 nations

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Ahead of the summit, organizers released the voluntary Antalya Artificial Intelligence Pledge to address mounting concerns over data centers and evaluate AI tools for climate action

President Donald Trump signed executive orders withdrawing the United States from both the 2015 Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that energy shocks linked to wars demonstrate that dependence on fossil fuels is a fundamental security problem

A U.S. subnational delegation of over 100 governors, mayors, and other city and state officials attended COP31 alongside an official U.S. Congressional delegation

The Trump administration sent no official delegation to COP31, marking the second consecutive year of official executive branch absence at the annual UN climate summit

African Group of Negotiators chair Antwi-Boasiako Amoah demanded that a formal delivery pathway for tripling climate adaptation finance be added to the COP31 agenda

Turkey is hosting and presiding over the COP31 summit, while Australia is leading the official negotiated segment under a shared arrangement

Global conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, have triggered energy shocks and economic strain that complicate international climate negotiations at COP31

Turkish Environment Minister and COP31 President Murat Kurum championed an Action Agenda pledge to increase electricity's share of global energy demand from 20% to 35% by 2035

United Nations Environment Programme reports released ahead of COP31 warned that global temperatures are on track to breach the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold within a few years

Secretary-General António Guterres disclosed that scientists informed him in 2025 that maintaining global warming below the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold was no longer scientifically achievable

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called COP31 a moment of truth, making his final climate appeal before his second term ends in December 2026

Alliance of Small Island States chair Ilana Seid stated that member nations will focus at COP31 on securing greater finance access and returning to the 1.5-degree warming target

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore praised Secretary-General António Guterres for consistently highlighting global warming as humanity's greatest challenge

COP17 President Hambardzum Matevosyan brought down the gavel to formally approve the final agreement documents after negotiations extended into overtime in Yerevan.

The United Nations global assessment report published on October 15, 2026, revealed that fewer than half of the assessed national targets under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are currently on track.

During COP17, the European Union urged wealthy emerging economies, including Gulf states and China, to join the formal donor group providing global biodiversity financing to developing nations.

Delegates from Saudi Arabia and Russia faced accusations from negotiators, including French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut, of blocking the formal approval of key UN-backed scientific reports during the COP17 negotiations.

Target 18 of the Global Biodiversity Framework calls on governments to reduce environmentally harmful subsidies by at least $500 billion annually by 2030.

Swiss negotiator Gabriela Blatter issued a statement at COP17 on behalf of dozens of nations, criticizing increasing political attempts to challenge and constrain scientific evidence.