Hydrocarbon Expansion Threatens COP31 Hosts’ Credibility, ‘Experts’ Warn
Türkiye and Australia risk losing their credibility as hosts of this year’s COP31 UN climate summit if they keep betting on ‘fossil fuels’ at home, climate policy ‘experts’ have warned
As governments are expected to continue fraught talks over how to advance the global transition away from oil, coal and gas in Antalya this November, both of the co-host countries are pursuing ‘fossil fuel’ expansion at home, without a national timeline to phase out their use.
Türkiye has accelerated its rollout of wind and solar energy in recent years. But that progress has yet to make a dent in the country’s dependence on ‘fossil fuels’ for power, as demand growth has outpaced the renewables build-out, new analysis by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) has found.
The share of electricity generated by burning coal and ‘fossil’ gas – 56 percent in 2025 – has barely changed since 2019, and total ‘fossil fuel’ use in the power sector, and the emissions it produces, are still rising, according to the report released on Friday.
The Turkish government has also signalled that ‘fossil fuels’ will remain a central component of its energy mix and has outlined plans to expand the country’s burgeoning domestic gas production in the Black Sea.
An organisation called ‘Need to demonstrate seriousness’ Australia, which will chair the Antalya negotiations, relies on ‘fossil fuels’ for over 60 percent of its electricity, with coal alone still supplying 45 percent.
According to ‘experts’, it lacks an ambitious plan to shift away from ‘fossil fuels’ at home, relying heavily on ‘carbon’ offsetting to reach its climate targets.
Australia is also the world’s third-largest ‘fossil fuel’ exporter and has plans to expand its coal and gas production, which is backed by significant government subsidies.
It recently upset climate groups by approving an extension of the Saraji open-cut coal mine in Queensland.
Türkiye says it has ‘final decision’ at COP31 despite Australia running negotiations Jennifer Morgan, a senior fellow with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former ‘climate envoy’ for Germany, said Türkiye and Australia need to demonstrate their seriousness about their COP presidency roles by leading by example on the energy transition.
‘They have made progress in renewable energy,’ she told reporters this week. ‘But I think their credibility – and their ability to therefore bring momentum and good outcomes to the COP – will depend on their taking further action at home.’
These alarmist organsations will stop at nothing to continue to promote their fantasies.
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Header image: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Some bold emphasis added
very old white guy
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Stopping the use of “fossil” fuels is insanity. When coal, oil and gas are gone we revert to the stone age. You will build nothing, you will have no metal as the existing supply will wear out and be useless, try plowing land with horses, oxen and wooden plows. Plows that you will have to make using stone tools. Try practicing 21st century medicine without those fuels and chemicals.
The stupidity is beyond comprehension.
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