Wealthier nations had agreed at previous COP meetings to triple the money going to developing countries to help them adapt, to at least $85 billion (£63 billion) by 2035. Rising heat has already been felt by countries attending the summit. BBC reported extensive wildfires across Europe and a sudden glacier collapse in Nepal that killed more than 1,000 people.
The outlook matters because the world is on track for 2.8C of warming above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, BBC reported. That path is all but certain to exceed the 1.5C goal set under the Paris Agreement to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Stiell was also expected to say that expanding renewable energy was both a climate response and an economic answer to recent energy shocks. One cited figure put savings from global renewables at around half a trillion dollars last year.
Scientists told BBC News that the world was on course for its hottest year as the planet was hit by both human-caused warming and the natural El Niño pattern, which is pushing global temperatures higher.
Previous climate summits produced targets on cutting fossil fuels, increasing money for developing countries and protecting forests. At earlier meetings the focus was on reducing emissions — tackling the cause of climate change.
Scientists have forecast that 2026 will be the hottest year on record as the COP31 climate summit opens, with warming from climate change and El Niño driving temperatures higher.
Berkeley Earth, the independent U.S. research group behind the forecast, said that with two months of the year left it was 95% confident 2026 would surpass the previous record, set in 2024. Additional greenhouse gases have trapped extra heat in the atmosphere, and about 90% of that heat has been absorbed by the oceans. Scientists said there was simply more heat available to be released.
The Turkish government said it wanted this year's discussions to focus on a new goal for electrification — shifting energy systems from fossil fuels toward electricity — and on cutting waste.