‘The climate issue is the security issue,’ says Turkish minister at Pacific pre-Cop summit in Fiji
Wealthy countries should spend far more on dealing with the climate crisis than the 5% of GDP promised by Nato members for defence because “the climate issue is the security issue”, the host of the next UN summit has said.
But, in comments that are likely to prove contentious, the Cop31 president-designate, Murat Kurum, hedged on whether countries should try to repeat a previous agreement to “transition away from fossil fuels” – the primary cause of the climate crisis – when they meet in Turkey next month.
Kurum was among national leaders and ministers, officials and civil society members in Fiji this week to prepare for Cop31, which will take place in the Turkish city of Antalya in November. Australia, which has the new role of “president of negotiations” at Cop31, had pushed to hold the pre-Cop meeting in the Pacific to bring attention to island nations.
Geopolitical turmoil from war, a historic energy crisis and an unpredictable and climate-denying US administration – combined with the knowledge that many would be attending the main climate summit in a few weeks – meant only 13 national leaders joined Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in the Fijian city of Nadi, and most were from the Pacific.
