Key figures in this year's global climate politicking point to energy crisis as reason to double down on green transition
At the opening of technical talks in Bonn ahead of the upcoming COP31 climate summit in Turkey, the official who will head the global talks, Murat Kurum, painted a grim picture of unstable energy markets and growing debt pressure.
Officially dubbed SB64 – for the 64th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies – the gathering which opened on Monday is seen as the last chance to make serious progress on maintaining global ambition to implement the Paris Agreement before the UN talks in Antalya in November.
“These realities send a clear message,” the designated COP31 President Murat Kurum told attendees in the western German city. “They remind us how risky it is to remain dependent on imported fossil fuels, and how urgent it is to speed up the clean energy transition.”
“If we want Antalya to focus on the highest-level political decisions, we must use this time in Bonn to move the core negotiation tracks forward and reduce the burden that will otherwise fall on COP31,” Kurum said.
