COP31 President Murat Kuru demands action, not just promises

COP31 has officially opened in Antalya, Türkiye, with COP31 President Murat Kurum urging countries to turn climate promises into practical action.

Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony on Monday, November 9, Kurum said climate change can no longer be treated in isolation from conflict, debt, food insecurity and economic pressure.

“Climate policy today is also development policy. It is food policy. Energy policy. Urban policy. Health policy,” he said.

He described COP31 as an “Implementation COP”, focused on closing the gap between commitments made in negotiating rooms and tangible improvements in people’s lives.

Kurum reaffirmed the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, saying it “remains our guide”, and promised delegates would be “frank about what the science tells us.”

That science is stark. The WMO State of the Climate Update 2026, released on opening day, shows the past 12 years have individually been the warmest on record, with the past four years being the top four.

Murat Kurum outlined two major priorities for the Presidency: the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, to raise electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, and delivering climate finance of at least $300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035, scaling up to $1.3 trillion a year from all sources.

COP31 President of Negotiations, Chris Bowen of Australia, said COP31 was an opportunity to show what cooperation can deliver for the climate and global energy security, and to close the gap between commitment and delivery.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned that progress is “nowhere near fast or fair enough” and that no COP is a silver bullet.

Day One of COP31 focused on Food, Agriculture and Health, with the launch of the Antalya Initiative for Resilient Health Systems, in partnership with the WHO, to help countries strengthen health systems against climate risks.

For Ghana and Africa, the opening sets a clear test: whether finance, electrification and adaptation promises made in Antalya will reach farmers, coastal communities and cities facing floods, drought and rising heat. COP31 runs from November 9 to 20, 2026.