Addressing the Antalya summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan detailed how warfare in Gaza has destroyed ancient olive groves, contaminated vital soil and water, and submerged displacement shelters under floodwaters. He warned that excessive consumption has triggered a severe existential crisis, urging developed states to deliver overdue climate financing. Backing calls for faster action, outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that global warming is currently outpacing international mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, world leaders emphasized that broader geopolitical conflicts must not derail urgent transitions away from fossil fuels.
Key points
Developed nations must provide significantly more financial support to fulfill lagging gl…: Developed nations must provide significantly more financial support to fulfill lagging global climate commitments.
Negotiators from nearly 200 nations are seeking to accelerate the global transition away…: Negotiators from nearly 200 nations are seeking to accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuels.
International leaders warned that mounting geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts thre…: International leaders warned that mounting geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts threaten to derail critical climate action.
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Gaza has suffered an ecocide as well as a genocide, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday during his opening address at the Cop31 climate conference, which is being held in Antalya.
“As I also emphasised in my address to the UN General Assembly, Gaza has suffered not only genocide but also ecocide,” Erdogan said of the Palestinian enclave, which has been subject to an Israeli onslaught since October 2023.
“Centuries-old olive trees have been cut down, the soil and water have been contaminated, and cities have been reduced to enormous piles of rubble.”
Erdogan said heavy rainfall and flooding had compounded the humanitarian suffering in Gaza, leaving tens of thousands of tents and shelters submerged.
“Hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, with no roof under which to take shelter, especially innocent children trembling with cold, are struggling to survive amid the floodwaters in these winter conditions, often without their mothers or fathers,” he said.
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A non-profit conservation group purchased the historic 2,458-acre Plains property for $8.5 million to permanently safeguard its native wildlife habitats. The initiative enlarges an existing state-managed natural reserve and ensures future public access for outdoor recreation. This transfer preserves decades of ecological restoration favored by the former president while protecting key regional species.
Global emissions reached historic highs in 2025 as consecutive record-breaking temperatures push the planet past the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree warming threshold. The gathering in Antalya faces significant diplomatic hurdles, with most major industrialized powers failing to send top leadership despite worsening international weather catastrophes. Meanwhile, regional conflicts disrupting global petroleum supplies continue to underscore the broader economic risks tied directly to hydrocarbon dependence.
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