Antalya, November 11, 2026: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived at the COP31 Antalya Leaders’ Summit in Türkiye on Wednesday, where he is set to highlight Pakistan’s climate priorities and call for stronger international cooperation and increased climate financing for developing countries.
The prime minister was received at the summit venue by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). He subsequently joined other world leaders for a group photograph.
The summit has brought together delegates from nearly 200 countries at the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya amid growing concerns over rising greenhouse gas emissions, extreme weather events and the slow pace of global climate action.
According to the Foreign Office (FO), Shehbaz will highlight Pakistan’s efforts to accelerate solarisation and expand renewable energy capacity as part of its transition towards a cleaner and more climate-resilient economy.
He will also underscore the country’s initiatives to strengthen disaster preparedness and early-warning systems, while calling for predictable, adequate and accessible climate finance to help developing countries build resilience and pursue sustainable development.
The prime minister is also scheduled to address a high-level dialogue on clean energy transition and electrification, convened by the COP31 presidency under the theme “35 by 35: Powering the Future”. The session is scheduled for 3pm local time (5pm Pakistan time).
A Pakistan Pavilion has also been established at the summit venue, where 54 events will be organised on a range of climate-related themes, the PMO said.
On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz held meetings and informal interactions with several world leaders and heads of international organisations.
He held a separate meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his delegation to discuss bilateral relations, ways to enhance cooperation, the regional situation and matters relating to regional peace, according to the PMO.
The prime minister also interacted with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rehman, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Other engagements included meetings with Organisation of Islamic Cooperation chief Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Türkiye’s First Lady Emine Erdoğan.
During his interaction with the Palestinian prime minister, Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s full solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Mohammad Mustafa thanked the government and people of Pakistan for raising their voices internationally against injustices faced by Palestinians and supporting their position, the PMO said.
The prime minister and the leaders also discussed strengthening bilateral relations, regional developments and the need to highlight the challenges confronting countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Addressing world leaders as the summit entered its third day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the international response to climate change had been too slow, putting the world on a dangerous path.
“The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us. This is the path to mutually assured destruction,” he said, referring to rising emissions, global temperatures and increasingly severe climate-related disasters.
However, he urged governments not to surrender to the crisis, saying science called for stronger action.
Guterres also called for a faster transition to clean energy, warning that dependence on fossil fuels was damaging economies as well as the environment. He pointed to the vulnerability of countries dependent on imported fossil fuels to price shocks and geopolitical instability.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, addressing the summit, highlighted the environmental consequences of armed conflicts and described the situation in Gaza as both a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.
The high-level segment of the conference, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday, is also being attended by leaders and senior representatives from several countries, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine.
The United States, the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, is not participating in the talks for the second consecutive year following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from international climate cooperation after returning to office in 2025.
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries are seeking agreement on measures to increase the share of electricity in global energy consumption and revive efforts to move away from fossil fuels.
Türkiye has placed an electrification target at the centre of its proposed COP31 outcome, seeking to increase electricity’s share of global energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035, from slightly more than one-fifth at present.
However, critics have questioned whether the proposal will deliver substantial emissions reductions, as it does not explicitly require additional electricity generation to come from clean energy sources. Governments also remain divided over a broader roadmap for transitioning away from coal, oil and gas.
Climate finance is another major point of contention. Developing countries are pressing developed nations to provide greater financial support for climate adaptation and the transition to cleaner energy, arguing that existing commitments remain insufficient.
Negotiations ahead of the summit were marked by disagreements over the inclusion of climate finance issues on the official agenda. Developing countries are also seeking progress on a platform agreed at COP30 in Brazil to discuss how wealthy nations should provide financial support, while African countries are pushing for discussions on tripling adaptation finance.
The talks are taking place against the backdrop of growing extreme weather risks. A United Nations report released last month warned that the world remained on course to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold set under the Paris Agreement.
The year 2026 has also witnessed severe heatwaves across Western Europe and a glacier collapse in Nepal that triggered catastrophic flooding, killing more than 1,450 people, with thousands still missing.
Former French prime minister Laurent Fabius, who presided over the 2015 Paris climate conference, said the leaders’ speeches should provide political momentum to the negotiations, with implementation emerging as a key priority.
However, observers expect limited major breakthroughs as countries grapple with geopolitical tensions, energy market disruptions and disagreements over climate financing and the future of fossil fuels.
