Cop31: ‘The crisis is upon us now’ Burnham due to tell climate summit
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will address Cop31 in Turkey today, announcing the world's first special representative for climate security amid stalled negotiations on a cover decision.
World leaders are holding bilateral meetings and roundtables at Cop31 in Turkey, with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham arriving to announce the world's first special representative for climate security. This new role will advise the government on national security risks from the climate crisis, following Ed Miliband's warnings about climate threats to national security.
Burnham will meet with Brazilian President Lula during his time at the summit before departing with most other European leaders to the Dublin conference on AI. While leaders engage in diplomatic meetings, negotiators continue working through the extensive text documents that form the main output of the annual climate conference.
Cover Decision Dispute
The agenda for Cop31 was agreed without delay on Monday, but negotiators remain divided over whether to produce a 'cover decision' - a binding document that gathers together key discussion threads from the conference. Unlike formal negotiating streams focused on single topics, cover decisions contain varied elements ranging from acknowledgments to key progress elements.
Australia has left open the option of a cover decision, but key groups including the Arab Group, Russia and the Like-Minded Developing Countries (influenced by Saudi Arabia, with India and sometimes China as members) appear opposed. This follows controversy at Cop29 in 2024 when the presidential decision to forgo a cover decision angered many parties.
Potential items in this year's cover decision include the pledge for 35% of final energy from electricity by 2035, recognition of Brazil's roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, acknowledgment of the overshoot of the 1.5C temperature rise limit, and adaptation finance for poor countries.
UK Climate Leadership
In his first Cop as Prime Minister, Burnham will emphasize the urgency of the climate crisis, stating: We should all recognise the summer was not normal. The climate crisis is upon all of us now. We saw that with the wildfires that devastated lives and livelihoods everywhere.
The message I carry here, in my first Cop as prime minister, is that the UK remains determined to reach net zero by 2050 and to work with our partners to build a clean energy future. The world has changed. The consensus we once enjoyed on science and climate action has broken down. We will not stand by, and that's why I've pledged a new era of British leadership over the next decade.
Summit Dynamics
The summit continues with leaders' speeches and negotiations, though many European leaders including those from Germany and France are absent this year. The Cop31 liveblog notes that while leaders engage in photo opportunities, their entourages clog up central halls with security personnel, while negotiators quietly work through the reams of text that form the conference's main output.
Historically, cover decisions have been crucial for progress, such as the resolution to phase down coal at Cop26 in Glasgow and the pledge to transition away from fossil fuels at Cop28 in Dubai. The lack of agreement on this year's cover decision threatens to leave important climate commitments without formal binding status.
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