At COP31, Overlap Between Self-Interest and Climate Action Has Never Been Stronger

ANTALYA, Türkiye — World leaders are preparing to gather for the United Nations’ annual global climate conference (COP31), which begins next week.

A statement follows from Manish Bapna, president & CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“With every year, the challenges surrounding global climate talks may seem more and more unpredictable and dire, but importantly—hope remains in the science, in the economics and in real-world action.

“This year’s talks come on the heels of recent U.N. reports that confirm both the world is entering uncharted and risky new territory of warming—and that the United States is having an outsize negative impact. Unnatural disasters continue to take lives and devastate communities. The war in Iran is fueling energy shortages and price spikes. The rise of AI is raising new environmental and existential concerns.

“Amid the warnings, U.N. scientists have emphasized that it is not too late to right the ship. There is still opportunity to bring global temperatures down over the longer term. 

“Fortunately, the overlap between self-interest and climate action has never been stronger, from consumer affordability to fiscal responsibility and national security. Clean energy sources are increasingly the cheapest and quickest available to meet rising demand, and address shortages. While climate rhetoric may have chilled, clean energy investment remains hot—in economies big and small, as well as in cities and states across the United States.

“There is a laundry list of reasons to pick up the pace at COP31. We will be watching for government and business leaders to ramp up electrification as well as clean energy deployment around the world, to commit to more responsible AI and global digital infrastructure, to safeguard natural climate solutions, to make communities more resilient to the impacts of this crisis that we can no longer avoid, and to scale up climate financing.”

Additional Information

Further reflections from NRDC experts ahead of COP31 can be found here:

• Statement: UN Overshoot Report is a Rallying Cry, Not a Death Knell
• Statement: Antalya AI Pledge is an Important Start, But Needs Teeth and Must Go Further
• Blog: AI for Sustainable Development: When Bigger is Not Better
• Blog: Electrification Is Having Its Climate Moment. Can the World Deliver?
• Blog: Overshoot Demands a New Era of Adaptation, Loss and Damage

• Blog: Five Things to Watch on Climate Finance at COP31

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  Established in 1970, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Our team of more than 800 lawyers, policy experts, scientists, economists, and communications specialists work across the United States and around the world, from offices in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Monica, as well as a representative office in Beijing and affiliate offices in New Delhi (through NRDC’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, NRDC India Private Limited) and London (through its UK-based partner NRDC International).