World leaders gathered at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye face mounting pressure to abandon their fossil fuel backing and enact an equitable phase-out, Amnesty International reported.
Negotiators cannot hide behind future promises or protect industry allies after more than three decades of climate talks, according to Marta Schaaf, Programme Director for Climate, ESJ and Corporate Accountability at Amnesty International.
“The world is not running out of climate warnings. It is running out of excuses,” Schaaf said.
A recent assessment from the UN Environment Programme warned that the planet remains on track to overshoot the 1.5°C warming threshold. Communities worldwide face mounting devastation from droughts, wildfires, storms, floods, and rising seas.
The International Court of Justice has clarified that states hold legal obligations to prevent significant climate harm and regulate activities driving global heating. COP31 serves as a critical test of whether governments will fulfill those duties.
“Even if temporarily exceeding 1.5°C becomes unavoidable, it must never become an excuse for surrender or further delay,” Schaaf said.
High-income nations with the greatest historical emissions must increase grant-based climate finance through taxes on the ultra-rich and fossil fuel companies. Meanwhile, host nations Türkiye and Australia face intense scrutiny over their ongoing fossil fuel reliance and expansion plans.
Amnesty International urged the summit to establish the Belem-Antalya Mechanism for Just Transition, implement the Gender Action Plan, and ensure the second Global Stocktake incorporates human rights. The organization also stressed the necessity of protecting environmental defenders and civic space throughout the negotiations in Türkiye.
“There can be no climate justice without the freedom to demand it,” Schaaf said.
