COP31 opens in Turkey as world faces new era of climate extremes

The COP31 climate summit opened Monday in Antalya, Turkey, with over 100,000 participants expected, as the world enters what many call a new era of climate extremes following a year of deadly floods, heatwaves, and wildfires. The conference aims to translate previous commitments into concrete actions, with Turkey proposing to raise electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035, though this faces potential discord over whether electrification must be "clean" and fossil-fuel-free. African nations are demanding tripling adaptation finance on the agenda, while the absence of the US administration under President Donald Trump casts a shadow, as the UN warns the planet remains off-track from the 2015 Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal.