Marshall Islands president warns 1.5°C breach would end 'world we know' at COP31

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine warned at the COP31 climate summit in Turkey that exceeding the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target would devastate island nations, saying "the world we know is over" without overwhelming climate action. Heine cited rising seas, coastal erosion, and floods threatening towns and infrastructure, noting coral bleaching around her home island. Barbados PM Mia Mottley said existing pledges could still allow 2.6°C warming, calling overshoot "a debt of heat" against children's futures. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged ending fossil fuel dependence and taxing oil company profits, while Turkey faced criticism for new oilfield discoveries. Several leaders, including Trump and Xi, were absent, and scientists warned of inevitable 1.5°C overshoot.