World leaders face pressure to act at COP31 as climate warnings intensify

World leaders are gathering in Turkey for COP 31 as pressure mounts for urgent action on climate change. Australia is leading negotiations with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling on wealthier nations to step up support for Pacific island countries already facing the devastating impacts of global warming. We have a solemn responsibility to this and to future generations to act This is the critical decade. We must take that action now. And that is why we are all here, to demonstrate what we can achieve together. The Ethiopian Prime Minister echoed similar sentiments, saying that Ethiopia and other countries need financing that is accessible and fair. We should ask how we will finance the future we have agreed to build. Developing countries pay nearly $1 trillion in interest on public debt. In Seville, we recognised that high borrowing costs limit countries' capacity to invest in resilience. Lowering them is a test of our collective credibility. That understanding now needs to guide the lending decisions of multilateral financial institutions. Brexit is misfacing this year's COP31 hosts. Turkey and Australia both ranked among the world's worst performers on cutting planet-heating emissions. Scientists warn global temperatures are on track to breach the critical 1.5-degree threshold the limit world leaders pledged to pursue under the 2015 Paris Agreement.