Overview
- COP31 opened on Monday in Antalya with Turkey presiding and Australia running the formal negotiations and Ankara placing a voluntary '35 by 35' electrification target at the centre of the summit agenda.
- Turkey’s energy minister unveiled a $500 billion domestic roadmap that aims to electrify the economy and expand wind and solar to about 175 GW as part of the push to increase electricity’s role.
- Independent analysts and NGOs have warned the plan lacks credibility because about one third of Turkey’s electricity comes from coal, the Climate Action Tracker scores Turkey’s targets as extremely insufficient, and no national coal phase‑out date has been set.
- Local opposition is active: villagers in İkizköy are fighting a presidential decree to expropriate 679 parcels for lignite expansion, activists have been detained for protests, and companies linked to coal projects are among summit sponsors.
- European officials are pressing for wording that ties electrification to clean or green power, and negotiators and campaigners say the outcome will affect finance talks, adaptation funding pressure, and the risk that higher electricity demand could increase fossil fuel use if new generation is not low‑carbon.