Wire reporting: (Reuters, via Al-Monitor)

The U.N. climate secretariat lists COP31 at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya, Türkiye, from Nov. 9 to 20, 2026.

Al-Monitor published a Reuters report from Antalya saying representatives of nearly 200 countries were to begin a two-week session Monday¹.

That report said Turkey’s presidency is asking governments to back a target that electricity would account for more than a third of the global economy by 2035, up from about a fifth¹. Climate groups, it said, have argued the ask does not require the extra power to come from low-carbon sources¹.

Pacific island governments and others, according to the same dispatch, want a clearer path away from fossil fuels; oil- and gas-producing countries including Saudi Arabia were described as arguing those fuels can remain a large share of the mix if paired with capture or other emissions-cutting technology¹.

Reuters, as carried by Al-Monitor, tied a difficult setting to energy-security pressure, rising electricity demand associated with artificial intelligence, and a second year of U.S. absence from climate cooperation, and cited a U.N. Environment Programme report from October saying the world is already on track to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels¹. The report also said Turkey will seek a separate pledge on sustainable development and use of AI¹.

What governments will sign, and whether any agreed text addresses fossil fuels or electricity sources, was not known as the session opened¹.

Sources

1. (Reuters, via Al-Monitor)COP31 to open in Turkey, with climate goals under pressure from war and AI8:46 PM

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