Africa: 'Make or Bake Time' - Guterres Urges Climate Justice Pact As Leaders Gather At COP31

What the report says

UN Secretary-General António Guterres used the opening of COP31 in Antalya to press for a new global climate justice compact, arguing that countries most exposed to warming need more finance, stronger protections and faster support as they shift away from fossil fuels. According to UN News, he urged governments to consider taxing oil and gas companies and said polluters should help pay for the damage caused by climate change.

The appeal came as leaders from around the world gathered for the two-day summit, which is co-hosted by Turkey and Australia. The article says the talks opened with unresolved disagreements over climate finance, adaptation support and the longer-term role of fossil fuels. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva both emphasized the gap between years of climate pledges and limited real-world progress.

UN News also highlighted methane as a major issue during the conference’s “Zero Waste” day. The piece described methane as a powerful short-lived warming gas and noted UN efforts to track leaks using satellites and artificial intelligence. The report also pointed to practical examples, including a Botswana business using worms to turn food waste into fertilizer, as an illustration of climate solutions already being applied on the ground.

More broadly, the report framed COP31 as a test of whether governments can move beyond promises to delivery on emissions cuts, adaptation and climate finance, especially for developing countries that have contributed least to the crisis.