A transition away from fossil fuels, increased climate adaptation funding and the timing of future climate science reports are among the issues proposed for consideration in the final decision of the ongoing COP31 conference in Turkey.
Australia, which is coordinating the negotiations with Turkey, released a document on Friday containing a summary of issues raised by participating countries at the two-week conference in Antalya, Channels Television reported.
The document also lists a proposal to triple adaptation finance provided by developed countries to support poorer nations in preparing for the effects of climate change.
Another issue raised is the need to limit the magnitude and duration of global warming above the 1.5°C threshold set under the Paris Agreement.
On climate science, some countries have called for the next major assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be published before the 2028 UN climate summit. However, Saudi Arabia, India and China have proposed delaying its release until 2029 to allow more data from developing countries to be included.
The proposal builds on the agreement reached at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 on transitioning away from fossil fuels. However, the issue was not included in the final decisions at COP29 in Azerbaijan and COP30 in Brazil.
Australia is seeking to incorporate some of the proposals into a broad political agreement known as a cover decision. However, Russia and the Arab Group have questioned the mandate for such an agreement, according to climate think tank E3G expert Alden Meyer, who spoke to AFP.
A first draft of the proposed decision is expected on Monday. COP31 is scheduled to end on November 20.
