At the 31st Climate Change Conference (COP31) taking place in Antalya, Turkiye, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for immediate and decisive action from world leaders to combat the escalating climate crisis. Guterres emphasized that the world is on a destructive path, urging leaders to eliminate coal, gas, and oil as energy sources to avert disaster. He accused the fossil fuel lobby of obstructing necessary climate action, stating, "Fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs, but that won’t happen on its own. The dinosaurs did not have a lobby, but fossil fuels do."

During his address, Guterres highlighted alarming statistics, noting that emissions reached all-time highs in 2025 and that the last four years were recorded as the hottest ever. He warned that climate disasters are increasingly affecting lives, livelihoods, and economies worldwide, describing the situation as a path to "mutually assured destruction." Among the leaders attending COP31 are Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, while notable absentees include leaders from G7 countries and the United States, which has missed the talks for the second consecutive year.S1S2

The conference is also spotlighting Turkiye's initiative to promote the electrification of transport, buildings, and industry, aiming to increase electricity’s share of global energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035. However, the European Union has stressed that this electrification must be clean, potentially leading to debates regarding the continued role of fossil fuels in energy consumption. Guterres reiterated the need for countries to expedite their transition to clean energy sources, linking the reliance on fossil fuels to economic instability, particularly in light of rising petroleum prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including the US-Israel war on Iran.S1

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, also in attendance, indicated that he would use the conference to address environmental destruction caused by war, further emphasizing the multifaceted nature of the climate crisis. As COP31 unfolds, the discussions are expected to focus on how to effectively transition away from fossil fuels and implement sustainable energy solutions globally, with Guterres urging leaders to "fight harder" against climate change.S2