Daily Briefing: World leaders at COP31 | UK rejects ‘biggest’ solar farm | ‘Ask Ed Miliband anything’

11.11.26

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News

World leaders begin talks at UN climate conference amid concerns that actions are inadequate, slow

The Associated Press

COP31’s world leaders’ summit will begin today in Antalya, Turkey, “but what can and will be accomplished remains to be seen”, says the Associated Press. It continues: “The talks come as the war in Iran has increased global prices of gasoline, oil and products made with them, such as fertilisers and pesticides. That has pushed governments to rethink energy policies and investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar.” The Financial Times reports that UK prime minister Andy Burnham is one of the few western leaders attending the summit. It adds that Burnham has “paid lip service” on climate change, but has been accused by climate campaigners of “presiding over a ‘rapid downward trajectory’ on climate and of backtracking on measures to address global warming”. The New Statesman speaks to “government insiders” who say that net-zero is among issues that have become “subordinate to the cost of living” under Burnham’s leadership. Other leaders attending include Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and EU commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, says Reuters.

On Tuesday, Brazilian COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago presented a global roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels to a “packed” plenary room, “cheered on by rounds of applause from delegates and civil society”, says Climate Home News. It reports that some major fossil-fuel producers have offered their support to the roadmap, including India, Nigeria and Germany. During the same session, UN secretary general António Guterres urged COP31’s co-presidents Australia and Turkey to “move from discussing the transition to organising it, financing it and delivering it”, reports the Guardian.

Politico reports that countries are “on the fence” about Australia and Turkey’s flagship target to increase electricity’s share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035. It says: “Only a smattering of governments…have explicitly backed the goal so far. Many major economies and big emitters have stayed mum. One diplomat from a developed country said that, for now, only a dozen nations were prepared to sign the pledge.” The EU is among powers supporting the target, according to a separate Politico story. BusinessGreen notes that “climate finance and petrostate opposition” remain “major hurdles” to the target. International Energy Agency chief Dr Fatih Birol urged countries to support the target in an interview with Euronews.

MORE ON COP31

Five countries backed a plan to double the number of homes with rooftop solar panels worldwide by 2030 on Tuesday at COP31, says the Associated Press.
The Guardian: “US and rest of world must follow China’s lead on green energy, says John Kerry.”
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has arrived at COP31, warning “everything we love is at stake”, according to the Associated Press.
The New York Times: “Turkey promotes itself as a climate champion. Not everyone agrees.”
Climate Home News reports on Turkey’s struggles with plastic waste on COP31’s “zero waste day”.
Bloomberg: “ExxonMobil CEO to miss UN climate talks after three years.”

China pledges continued ecological conservation and climate action at COP31

Hou Liqiang, China Daily

Environment minister Huang Runqiu said that China will continue to take “concrete action” on climate change while working with other countries to “strengthen” global climate governance, reports state-run newspaper China Daily. Huang also said that China will always be “an action-taker and a doer in tackling climate change”, says state news agency China News Service. At the same event, Li Gao, vice-minister of the environment ministry, said that China will support global climate governance and sustainable development through “practical action” during 2026-30, reports Shanghai-based outlet the Paper. In Istanbul, vice-president Han Zheng said that China is willing to work with Turkey to promote “positive outcomes” in COP31 and called for deepening “green development cooperation”, says state broadcaster CGTN. The Chinese delegation consists of more than 10 central government ministries and will hold negotiations and consultations on nearly 100 agenda items, according to business news outlet 21st Century Business Herald.

MORE ON CHINA

China’s trade surplus surged to more than $1tn due to the country’s exports of electric vehicles (EVs) and other products, says the Wall Street Journal. Exports of EVs, solar and batteries saw double-digit growth, reports Xinhua.
Jiemian: “The transition to green electricity in the electrolytic aluminium sector is hampered by ‘two sets of standards’.”
The NDRC says China will “strengthen energy reserves” and “advance coal reserve capacity building”, reports China Coal News.
A government official says updated guidelines will “provide strong support” for bodies conducting gross ecosystem product (GEP) accounting, Xinhua.
Chinese crude oil imports rose to “a seven-month high” in October as shipments from the Persian Gulf recovered, says Bloomberg.
Prof Lin Boqiang of Xiamen University refutes reporting on solar development on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau for holding “double standards” in a commentary for the Global Times. Another opinion article in the Global Times by Huzhou Normal University’s Jia Weilie argues that global emission reduction requires “wider deployment” of clean technologies.

UK: Ministers reject plans for western Europe’s biggest solar farm

Adam Vaughan, The Times

The UK government has rejected western Europe’s biggest solar power project, “citing its impact on the green belt and the loss of agricultural land”, says the Times. It continues: “The surprise refusal of the £850m Botley West solar farm in Oxfordshire comes just weeks after the £2.1bn Jackdaw gas field was approved and days before Andy Burnham is due to address the COP31 climate summit in Turkey. The decision was made by Baroness Curran, a junior energy minister, on behalf of Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, amid a wider rowback on net-zero policies including an expected watering down of electric car targets this week. The government has previously argued that large solar projects are vital for jobs, energy bills and climate change targets. Labour has approved a score of vast solar farms since it came to power two years ago.” The story is covered by BBC News, the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Elsewhere, Burnham faces a “cabinet split over plans to water down electric car targets”, says the Times. It continues: “The energy secretary is poised to make a last-ditch attempt to prevent the government from easing the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which stipulates how many electric cars must be sold each year. The Times understands that Miatta Fahnbulleh is pushing for the mandate to be held at its existing level given her responsibility for legally binding climate targets. Ed Miliband, her predecessor in the energy department, was also vehemently opposed to any relaxation.”

More renewables and Hormuz disruption drive emissions fall

Chloé Farand, Semafor

There is continuing coverage of this year’s “global carbon budget” and an accompanying study in Nature Climate Change. Global fossil-fuel emissions are set to fall 0.4% in 2026 due to renewables expansion and the Iran war, but that the “decline is not yet fast enough to be durable”, reports Semafor. Prof Pierre Friedlingstein, who led the work by the Global Carbon Project and was a co-author of the Nature Climate Change paper, tells Semafor: “A reduction driven partly by geopolitical shocks is not a sustainable climate solution.” The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph covers the Nature Climate Change study findings by saying: “Donald Trump’s war against Iran has achieved what decades of climate talks have seemingly failed to – a reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions.” Carbon Brief has a full rundown of the research authored by Friedlingstein and Carbon Brief climate science contributor Dr Zeke Hausfather.

Comment

COP31 outcome needs to prioritise transition away from fossil fuels

Stientje van Veldhoven, Climate Home News

For Climate Home News, Stientje van Veldhoven, Netherlands climate minister and co-host of the first transitioning away from fossil fuels conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, lays out her priorities for COP31. She says: “What was abundantly clear in Santa Marta is that our coalition’s efforts are a strong support to, rather than a replacement for, the COP process. Over the past decade or so, the focus at COPs was on setting goals. Now we must focus on implementation…During the coming two weeks, it’s critical that we see more concrete, actionable roadmaps for the fossil fuel phaseout. These documents can be crucial for a strong second global stocktake of national climate plans in two years’ time.”

MORE COMMENT

Sayanta Ghosh, senior associate fellow at the Energy and Resources Institute, writes in the Hindustan Times that COP31 will “test the global climate bargain”.
Surita Sandosham, CEO of the not-for-profit Heifer International, says in Reuters: “As farmers contend with super El Niño, COP31 climate talks must prioritise resilience.”
Inside Climate News: “COP31 meets the overshoot era.”
The Financial Times: “The rich find ways to escape climate change. Their emissions have not.”
The FT magazine has an obituary for climate economist William Nordhaus.

Research

A drier future climate could reduce the average area of wetland in Victoria, Australia, by up to 60% under a high-emissions scenario | Earth’s Future
Over 1961-2022, soil moisture has had increasing influence over temperatures in the Yangtze river basin, although large-scale atmospheric circulation remains the principal driver of compound heatwave-drought events | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Human-driven CO2 emissions increased the likelihood of the “fire weather” conditions that preceded the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires by 10-20% | Environmental Research Letters