United Nations climate talks opened in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday, Nov. 9, with developing countries pressing for a clearer plan to finance climate protections and the host country seeking support for a global electrification pledge. The opening session put a familiar dispute at the center of COP31: which commitments countries can turn into projects, and who will pay for them.

Negotiators discussed climate finance late Sunday as developing countries pressed to put it on the formal agenda, AFP reported. On Monday, U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell asked delegates to make already committed funding easier to access and to work out how to deliver on the previous summit’s call to triple finance for adaptation. Turkey’s COP31 president, Murat Kurum, separately proposed raising electricity’s share of global energy use to 35 percent by 2035.

The World Meteorological Organization released its climate update on the opening day. It put the global average temperature for January through September at 1.47 degrees Celsius above the 1850–1900 average and said 2026 was on track to be among the four warmest years on record. The figure covers nine months, so it is neither a final annual ranking nor a determination that long-term warming has crossed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree threshold.

Why the finance agenda matters

Developing countries sought discussion of a climate finance work program agreed at last year’s summit in Brazil. African countries also pushed for a separate agenda item on tripling adaptation finance, according to AFP. That funding is intended to reduce exposure to hazards already affecting people, for example by paying for coastal defenses or changes in agriculture where water is scarce. Stiell’s opening remarks emphasized that even money already committed can be difficult for countries to access.

The Associated Press reported that the African group’s proposals drew support from other developing countries and opposition from some wealthier delegations, including the European Union and Canada, citing an adviser to African negotiators. The dispute concerns where and how the money will be discussed. A place on the agenda can give delegates a forum to pursue decisions on funding, but it cannot itself make money available to governments or communities.

Two finance goals with different meanings

The finance decision adopted at COP29 in Azerbaijan set a goal of at least $300 billion a year by 2035 for climate action in developing countries, with developed countries taking the lead. It allows finance from public and private sources, including money raised through multilateral institutions. The same decision calls on a wider group of actors to help raise at least $1.3 trillion a year by 2035 from all public and private sources.

The figures describe different commitments. The larger number is a call to scale up finance across the system; it is not a pledge by wealthy governments to pay that sum out of their budgets. The decision itself acknowledges obstacles such as high borrowing costs and limited room in government budgets. That matters for adaptation projects: financing that adds to debt can have different consequences for a country than a grant, even when both support the same kind of protection.

More electricity, and the question of how it is made

Kurum’s proposed pledge would raise electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035, from about one-fifth now. The share measures the energy used by households, businesses and industry. It would rise as more vehicles, heating systems or industrial processes use electricity in place of fuels they burn directly. Kurum described the shift as a task that also requires investment in grids, storage and efficiency.

The amount of emissions avoided depends in part on what generates the additional electricity. Reuters reported that climate advocates criticized the pledge for omitting a requirement that the extra power come from low-carbon sources. Stiell paired his call for more electrification with proposals to expand renewable power, connect grids and reduce methane emissions from oil, gas and waste. The 35 percent figure is a goal the host is asking others to support, rather than a target agreed by all parties on opening day.

Who is leading the talks and what comes next

Turkey is hosting the summit, while Australia’s climate minister, Chris Bowen, is leading the negotiations under a shared arrangement reached after both countries sought to host. The United States is again absent from the formal talks under the Trump administration, according to Reuters. The conference also opened against the backdrop of disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which have pushed up fuel prices and added pressure on governments to secure supplies.

The leaders’ summit on Nov. 11 and 12 is scheduled separately from Monday’s opening, with national statements and a discussion on access to finance. The distinction matters: leaders can announce policies or funding there, while negotiators still have to agree on any formal conference decisions. One measure of progress will be whether countries specify how existing funding commitments will reach projects. Another will be whether governments that back the electrification proposal say how they plan to supply the additional power.