Antalya, November 12, 2026: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for “real action” on climate change, urging the international community to translate expressions of solidarity into tangible support for vulnerable countries facing climate-related disasters.
“When climate disasters strike, vulnerable countries need timely help and finance that does not deepen their debt,” the prime minister said while addressing the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Turkiye, on Thursday.
He called for grant-based climate financing, including public-private partnerships and a significant increase in funding for resilience and adaptation in countries struggling with the effects of climate change.
Recalling his warning four years ago about the far-reaching consequences of Pakistan’s climate disaster, Shehbaz said the situation had since become a stark reality.
“That warning has become a stark reality. The future we feared has become the present we are living. Climate change knows no border. No nation can face it alone,” he said.
Highlighting the impact of climate change on Pakistan, the prime minister recalled the devastating 2022 floods, which submerged nearly one-third of the country and affected approximately 33 million people.
He also acknowledged Turkiye’s support during the crisis, saying the country had stood shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan.
Shehbaz said Pakistan was pursuing environmentally friendly measures despite facing significant climate-related challenges, while contributing less than one per cent of global carbon emissions.
Guterres urges end to fossil fuel dependence
The two-week COP31 negotiations began in Turkiye this week, with governments facing mounting pressure to address climate change following a year of severe heatwaves and wildfires in Europe and deadly floods in Nepal.
A day earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticised the influence of the oil and gas lobby, telling world leaders that fossil fuels “must go the way of the dinosaurs” during the summit.
“The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us,” Guterres told dozens of world leaders gathered in Antalya for two days of speeches by heads of state and government.
However, major breakthroughs are not widely expected from the negotiations, scheduled to continue until November 20, as countries grapple with an oil price shock and geopolitical tensions linked to the US war with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Since agreeing in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels for the first time, countries have struggled to make significant progress towards that goal at successive UN climate conferences.
Addressing what is expected to be his final COP summit before stepping down in December, Guterres said governments could not continue expanding fossil fuel production while claiming to support efforts to tackle climate change.
“Fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs, but that won’t happen on its own. The dinosaurs did not have a lobby, but fossil fuels do,” he said.
He also accused the fossil fuel industry of attempting to undermine climate action through disinformation and delays in policymaking and accountability.
“Their strategy is simple: Distort the science. Delay the policy. Delay the action. Delay the accountability. It’s time to kick the habit — and end the fossil fuel addiction,” Guterres said, drawing sustained applause.
