COP31: Delegates warned of more transport delays as leaders’ summit begins

Heads of state and government will converge in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday for a two-day leaders’ summit at COP31, as the United Nations climate secretariat warned delegates to expect further transport delays around the venue.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will open the Antalya Leaders’ Summit. At the same time, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to address it, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) programme.

The summit’s theme is “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future”.

Security arrangements for the leaders will be in place on 11 and 12 November, the UNFCCC secretariat said in a notice sent to participants on Tuesday and seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

“Alternative routes have been put in place for shuttle buses to avoid the routes being used by leaders, but delays can be expected,” the notice said.

Leaders are scheduled to arrive at the venue from 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the opening session at 12:15 p.m. They will deliver national statements on both days, and the summit will end at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Mr Guterres urged leaders on Monday to cut emissions faster, speed up a transition away from fossil fuels and deliver finance and protection for vulnerable countries.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell said COP31 must deliver on tripling adaptation finance, easing access to climate funds, tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 and cutting methane emissions.

Finance is the subject of one of four roundtables hosted by the Turkish presidency. The session, on Thursday, will cover implementation and climate finance in the second decade of the Paris Agreement.

African negotiators failed on Monday to secure a separate agenda item to triple adaptation finance. COP31 president, Murat Kurum, ruled that the issue could be discussed under existing items after parties could not reach consensus.

The presidency’s proposal to raise electricity’s share of global energy demand to 35 per cent by 2035 is the subject of the first roundtable on Wednesday afternoon; the other two cover green industry, investment and jobs, and urban resilience and adaptation.

Methane will be taken up at a separate leaders’ meeting on Thursday morning on greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. Other events on the programme cover forests, zero waste, early warning systems, electricity grids and mountain regions.

Two events on Thursday are directly related to Africa, including a leaders’ roundtable on clean cooking in Africa and a high-level dialogue on African leadership on climate action.

Leaders from 70 countries are expected to deliver national statements in person, according to the UNFCCC’s list of speakers released on 8 November. An earlier list, published on 21 October, had 77.

Twenty-one African countries are on the list, including Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Algeria.

Nigeria is missing from the list of countries scheduled to speak on either day. Countries whose leaders do not speak this week can still deliver statements when the high-level segment resumes on 17 and 18 November.

Nine shuttle lines serving Belek, a resort area where many delegates are staying, will run a significantly reduced service between 8:30 a.m. and noon on both days, according to the secretariat’s notice.

The secretariat advised delegates to avoid travelling during those hours and said it had increased the number of buses leaving Belek before 8:30 a.m.

Taxis and vehicles without an access pass will also not be allowed to park near the venue, the notice said.

“The traffic is expected to resume back to normal in the afternoon, with buses operating as per schedule,” it added.

The warning follows two days of complaints about access to the conference. Some participants spent more than five hours collecting accreditation badges on Monday, PREMIUM TIMES reported. Journeys scheduled to take about 50 minutes lasted up to three hours.

COP31 has brought together government representatives, climate negotiators, scientists, civil society organisations, businesses and other stakeholders to discuss responses to the global climate crisis. The conference runs from 9 to 20 November.