German minister seeks concrete results from COP31 climate summit

German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider has said he hopes concrete steps to curb global warming will result from the UN Climate Change Conference that kicks off in Turkey on Monday.

"The faster global emissions fall, the faster we can bring the temperature curve back down to 1.5 degrees [Celsius]. At the same time, we must do more to protect people from the effects of heatwaves, droughts and floods," Schneider said.

Under the 2015 Paris climate accords, nations agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels to avoid devastating impacts from climate change, including more severe heat and flooding.

However, the United Nations forecast last month that the threshold will be surpassed this century, as most states haven't done enough to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Nations have been urged to "pull out all the stops" and step up climate efforts to keep the overshoot as short as possible and minimize its effects, with the UN arguing that returning to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century was "possible."

Nearly 200 states are due to convene in Antalya, Turkey, for the COP31 summit from Monday to discuss ways to stop global warming as well as support for poorer nations facing the climate crisis.

Environment Minister Schneider will be the sole German Cabinet member to attend the meeting.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads Europe's biggest economy, has been sharply criticized by climate advocates for his decision to skip the event over "other commitments."

Schneider said that the recent fuel and gas price surges, caused by the Iran war, also illustrated the need for greater climate action.

"Three quarters of the world's population live in countries that, like us, are dependent on imported fossil fuels. All these countries now have a strong new incentive to change their economic model," he said.

He pointed to electrification - meaning increased reliance on electricity as the main source of energy - as the right way to combat the fossil fuel crisis.

Schneider reaffirmed the German government's support for an initiative put forward by Turkey to increase the share of electricity in final energy consumption from the current 20% to 35% by 2035.