Climate researcher Mojib Latif has expressed low expectations for the upcoming COP31 climate conference in Turkey. Speaking to the Funke media group, he stated that since global CO2 emissions continue to hit new historical highs year after year across the past 30 climate conferences, the meetings fundamentally cannot be effective. Latif, who researches at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), also does not anticipate any significant breakthroughs at the 31st conference.
He argued that the current approach is ineffective, suggesting that supplementary smaller-scale conferences would be more beneficial. For real progress to occur, he stressed the critical need for consensus among major global emitters, specifically naming China, the United States, India, the EU, and Japan, which collectively account for over 60 percent of global emissions.
Despite the importance of these dialogues, Latif noted that various countries are currently seeing regressions in their climate protection efforts, pointing to backsliding in the US, as well as in Europe and Germany. The 31st World Climate Conference is scheduled to begin in Antalya on Monday.
