Arabic version: بوين يتولى دور المفاوضات في كوب31
According to The Guardian, Chris Bowen is serving as president of negotiations at Cop31 in Antalya, Turkey, with responsibility for trying to build an international consensus on climate action. The summit is expected to draw about 100,000 people, including ministers and diplomats from 200 countries.
The negotiations are expected to focus on whether countries can explicitly identify fossil fuels as the cause of the climate emergency. A potential agreement that 35% of the world’s energy should come from electricity by 2035 is also under discussion. Analysis prepared for the Australian government suggested that target could reduce fossil-fuel use in industry, transport, heating and cooking while encouraging clean-energy investment.
Bowen has also identified climate finance for island states, including Pacific nations, as a priority. The Guardian reported that these states receive 0.2% of the global funding committed to help countries cope with the crisis, despite being among those most at risk. He has additionally stressed the need to limit the extent to which global heating exceeds 1.5C before carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere.
Australia’s domestic climate record is likely to remain part of the debate. The country has policies to support large-scale renewable energy, electric vehicles, limits on industrial pollution and household batteries, but The Guardian said further measures would be needed to meet emissions-reduction targets. Since the Albanese government was elected, 38 coal and gas developments have been approved, mostly for export. Annual domestic emissions have fallen an estimated 25% since 2005, while emissions from burning Australian fossil-fuel exports have roughly doubled, according to Naru Research.
The article noted that a UN agreement at Cop28 in 2023 called for a transition away from fossil fuels, while progress toward the Paris agreement’s 1.5C goal has been slow and partial. It described Cop31 as an implementation summit focused on turning national commitments to cut pollution and support vulnerable countries into action.
