COP31 climate summit kicks off in Turkey with cultural displays, protests and pin collectibles
ANTALYA, Turkey –
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summit → kick → displays
The UN climate conference COP31 kicked off on Nov 9 in the wake of a series of disasters linked to the planetary crisis, from the glacial floods in Nepal to the forest fires in Indonesia.
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conference → kick → Indonesia
Representatives from almost 200 nations are gathered in the Turkish city of Antalya for the two-week summit, to negotiate how countries can do more to limit global warming and protect their people from climate onslaught.
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countries → gather → onslaught
At a press conference held on the opening day, leaders from the developing bloc of Pacific island nations called for a faster transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy instead.
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leaders → hold → energy
The small island states there are vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers.
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states → rise → glaciers
Nepal’s delegation also urged making mountain issues a priority.
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issues → urge → ?
Yet, the summit is also taking place amid geopolitical headwinds like the Middle East conflict and rising costs of living.
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summit → take → living
Climate finance – or funds that developed countries are obliged to contribute to developing countries to help them in their transition to greener, more resilient societies – looks set to be a major point of contention at this year’s talks.
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countries → develop → talks
Negotiators were locked in discussions late on Nov 8 over demands by developing nations to include items on climate finance in the official agenda.
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Negotiators → lock → agenda
But other than the official negotiations, the UN climate summit also features other events and exhibitions organised by non-state actors.
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summit → feature → actors
These include non-government organisations, academics and companies.
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These → include → organisations
A mainstay of the climate conference are the pavilions – exhibition areas manned by countries and organisations to showcase climate solutions, host panel discussions and other events.
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mainstay → man → discussions
The Straits Times recaps memorable moments from the conference so far.
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Times → recap → conference
The second day of the summit on Nov 10 was plagued with traffic delays.
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day → plague → delays
Some attendees reportedly took at least three hours to reach the venue due to road closures.
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attendees → take → closures
Shuttle buses and trams were also significantly delayed or suspended during certain hours.
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buses → delay → hours
As a result, some events were postponed or cancelled.
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events → postpone → result
The disruption was likely due to the enhanced security arrangements made in advance of the World Leaders Summit, which was slated for Nov 11 and 12.
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which → make → Nov
The summit will see world leaders setting out the climate priorities for their countries, with speakers including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
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speakers → see → Silva
Mounting pressures to focus on mountainous regions
Representatives from the Nepal delegation on Nov 9 called for countries to do more to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels – the threshold that climate scientists say can help the world avert harsher climate impact.
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world → mount → impact
Speaking at a press conference, Sagar Dhakal, member of parliament in Nepal, said: “This scale of disaster we have never seen, and the major factor is climate change.
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factor → speak → disaster
So this is the right time where we need to bring our issue to global attention.”
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we → need → attention
On Aug 26, Nepal was hit by glacial floods which affected at least 80,000 people, and destroyed homes, schools and infrastructure like hydropower facilities.
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which → hit → facilities
A Sept 17 analysis published by academic research group World Weather Attribution found that climate change likely compounded existing geological weaknesses that contributed to the rock and ice collapse.
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that → publish → collapse
Dhakal said the disaster killed more than 7,000 people, and impacted nearly 10% of its gross domestic product.
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disaster → say → product
He is calling for a greater recognition of mountain communities’ needs in global adaptation and climate finance frameworks.
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He → call → frameworks
Meanwhile, Dharam Raj Uprety, the chief executive for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said extreme climate events are overwhelming Nepal’s existing adaptation measures, including its monitoring infrastructure.
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events → say → infrastructure
He called for greater investment in mountain ecosystems, communities and infrastructure, including better hazard detection systems.
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He → call → systems
He also noted that mountain disasters can also have transboundary effects across other countries like India.
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disasters → note → India
Pacific island nations take centre stage
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nations → take → stage
For the first time, the presidency of the UN climate change conference is held by two countries – Turkey is hosting the summit, while Australia is leading the negotiations.
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Australia → hold → negotiations
Both countries had put in their bids to host the conference, with Turkey eventually beating Australia to stage the summit.
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Turkey → put → summit
Australia had hoped to host the conference partly to highlight the plight of the Pacific, one of the world’s most climate-exposed regions.
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Australia → hop → regions
The island nations there are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.
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nations → rise → levels
On Nov 9, COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen, who is Australia’s climate change and energy minister, raised the plight faced by these island nations in his opening remarks.
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who → raise → remarks
He said Pacific nations have done the least to cause climate change but have the most at stake, and called for countries to speed up deployment of clean energy, accelerate electrification and deliver climate finance faster, among others.
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countries → say → others
Pacific leaders themselves also called on world leaders to slash their emissions and ramp up renewables while prioritising Pacific issues, such as making climate finance more accessible.
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finance → call → issues
For example, COP31 Envoy for Oceania Tina Stege, who hails from the Marshall Islands, said that communities in low-lying atoll nations are already suffering severe impacts from rising seas, with increasingly frequent flooding threatening homes, infrastructure, freshwater supplies and livelihoods.
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communities → hail → homes
Oceania refers to a geographical region that generally includes the Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand.
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that → refer → islands
It’s about people, it’s about communities, it’s about the places we call home,” she said.
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she → ’ → places
…and 38 more, not listed.
The Aporia
