The Cop31 president-designate, Murat Kurum, has advocated for increased climate spending from wealthy nations compared to military expenditures. Speaking at preparatory meetings held in Fiji this week, Kurum argued that addressing the climate crisis should receive substantially greater financial resources than the 5% of GDP that NATO members have committed to defense spending, characterizing climate change as fundamentally a security matter.
Kurum noted that preventive climate investments are economically rational, as spending resources before disasters occur costs significantly less than recovering afterward. He and other officials highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable nations, with data showing that only 0.2% of global climate finance reaches small island developing states despite their severe exposure to rising seas and extreme weather. Delegates at the pre-Cop gathering, which drew approximately 4,000 attendees including 13 national leaders and 30 ministers, visited Tuvalu to witness firsthand the challenges facing low-lying atoll nations facing existential threats from rising ocean levels.
A central tension emerged regarding commitments to phase out fossil fuels. While both Turkey and Australia endorsed language supporting a “transition away from fossil fuels,” both countries face criticism for continuing to approve new coal and gas projects. Recent UN analysis projects that under optimistic scenarios, global temperatures will reach at least 1.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, exceeding the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree target. Kurum indicated uncertainty about whether further progress on explicit fossil fuel language could be achieved at the November summit in Antalya, suggesting that the focus might be better directed toward other climate solutions such as renewable energy expansion.
Pacific island nations and their allies have prioritized three demands ahead of Cop31: keeping the 1.5-degree goal achievable, improving access to climate finance for vulnerable communities, and protecting ocean health. The dispute over how explicitly to address fossil fuels remains contentious, with oil-producing nations historically resisting specific commitments, while numerous countries have separately pursued discussions on phasing out coal and gas outside formal UN channels.
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