What’s the point? Ten years after the Paris treaty, are climate talks getting anywhere?
News Source
•Sat, 07 Nov 2026 05:00:02 GMT
📰 What Happened
Negotiators are meeting in Antalya, Turkey, for the COP31 climate summit. It comes ten years after the Paris agreement was signed in 2015. That deal asked countries to hold global warming well below 2C, with a preferred limit of 1.5C.
The 1.5C goal has been missed. Global temperatures have passed that level for two years in a row. The UN now expects around 1.7C to 1.8C of heating. Many people are asking whether the yearly talks still achieve anything.
Inside the halls, countries still argue over who should cut emissions fastest and who should pay for the damage.
🔍 The Backstory
The Paris agreement was a breakthrough in 2015. For the first time, almost every country agreed to set its own plans to cut greenhouse gases. Those plans were meant to get stronger every five years.
But the rules let any single country block a decision, because deals must pass by agreement. Oil states such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have used this to slow progress. It took until 2023, at COP28 in Dubai, for countries to even name fossil fuels in a deal.
🎯 Why It Matters
Climate talks decide how fast the world cuts the pollution behind heatwaves, fires and floods. Slow talks mean hotter years and higher costs for everyone.
Negotiators are meeting in Antalya, Turkey, for the COP31 climate summit. It comes ten years after the Paris agreement was signed in 2015. That deal asked countries to hold global warming well below 2C, with a preferred limit of 1.5C.
The 1.5C goal has been missed. Global temperatures have passed that level for two years in a row. The UN now expects around 1.7C to 1.8C of heating. Many people are asking whether the yearly talks still achieve anything.
Inside the halls, countries still argue over who should cut emissions fastest and who should pay for the damage.
The Paris agreement was a breakthrough in 2015. For the first time, almost every country agreed to set its own plans to cut greenhouse gases. Those plans were meant to get stronger every five years.
But the rules let any single country block a decision, because deals must pass by agreement. Oil states such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have used this to slow progress. It took until 2023, at COP28 in Dubai, for countries to even name fossil fuels in a deal.
Climate talks decide how fast the world cuts the pollution behind heatwaves, fires and floods. Slow talks mean hotter years and higher costs for everyone.