World leaders press for urgent fossil fuel phase-out on third day of Cop31 talks

UPDATE - follow-up to Cop31 live: 'Fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs' - UN chief hits out at industry lobbying: World leaders meeting on the third day of the Cop31 climate summit pressed for urgent emission cuts while many heads of major polluting nations remained absent. UN chief António Guterres told delegates that the fossil fuel industry must be phased out, declaring that fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs because unlike prehistoric beasts, the sector has a powerful lobby.

Speeches and Warnings

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, called the recent season a summer of truth following severe heat and energy price spikes. While she stated the bloc is on track to meet its 2030 goal of cutting emissions by more than half, a European Environment Agency report showed current plans would achieve a 54% reduction from 1990 levels, just short of the legally binding 55% target. Meanwhile, Hilda Heine, President of the Marshall Islands, warned that the world risks overshooting the 1.5C global warming limit and criticized the host nation Turkey for celebrating new oilfield discoveries. Samia Suluhu Hassan, president of Tanzania, noted that climate shocks cost her country 2 to 3 percent of its GDP annually, while leaders from Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Mauritania also addressed the summit.

Context

Global climate summits like Cop bring together nations to negotiate emission reduction targets and climate finance to curb rising global temperatures. Such conferences regularly highlight the sharp divide between developing nations vulnerable to climate impacts and major energy-producing economies.