A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Week 1 of the United Nations' annual climate summit, known as COP31, wraps up this week in the Turkish resort town of Antalya. Nearly 200 nations are represented at the two-week conference to negotiate how to curb climate change. Here's NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi reporting from Antalya.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: World leaders gathered for their first day of negotiations at COP31 on Wednesday, urging nations to get tougher on global warming. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had an urgent plea.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES: We know the truth. Now we must act on it, because climate action is more than a fight over a number or a thermometer. We are in the fight for our lives and our children's future.
AL-SHALCHI: Scientists say that global warming is set to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 Fahrenheit in a few years. That could trigger the collapse of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Many leaders blame the war on Iran. The destruction of energy infrastructure has caused massive greenhouse gas emissions. The president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, said that's not an excuse.
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PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: We are told there is no money, but the spending on war grows. The greatest security threat we face remains underfunded. I appeal to you, find money for life, not death.
AL-SHALCHI: The European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said this year was a wake-up call.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: This summer was the summer of truth. Devastating floods in Nepal, droughts from Sudan to Central America, and in Europe, one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.
AL-SHALCHI: The EU has been successful at cutting emissions, unlike the U.S., which is absent from the summit for a second year in a row. In 2026, President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the legally binding treaty to limit global warming. But Palo Alto Mayor Vicki Venker still showed up to COP31.
VICKI VENKER: America is still embracing climate action, making progress in climate action and committed to climate action.
AL-SHALCHI: Her community is working on projects to significantly cut down greenhouse gas emissions.
VENKER: It would be better and stronger if the federal government were supportive. I hope with our new Congress, we can start turning that ship.
AL-SHALCHI: Venker says, until then, it's people like her who need to keep up the work.
Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Antalya.
(SOUNDBITE OF YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN SONG, "CARTER SON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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