Turkey's Murat Kurum Urges Climate Spending Over Defense
Turkish Minister Murat Kurum called for climate action to be treated as a primary security issue during pre-COP31 talks in Fiji and Tuvalu.
Turkish Environment Minister and COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum urged wealthy nations to prioritize climate action over national defense spending during preparatory talks in Fiji and Tuvalu. Speaking in Nadi, Kurum argued that the climate crisis is the primary security issue, questioning the utility of defense spending if nations lack habitable land. He contrasted the 5% of GDP promised by NATO members for defense with the lower commitments made to climate finance.
During the pre-COP meetings, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed urged leaders to maintain the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius warming target, stating that exceeding this limit is not a reason to surrender. She demanded that states fulfill commitments to transition from fossil fuels and triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. While Kurum and Australian Minister Chris Bowen supported a global goal of 35% electrification by 2035, Kurum remained noncommittal on whether the upcoming summit in Antalya should repeat previous agreements to transition away from fossil fuels.
Financial tensions remain high as the European Union warned there is no scope for new climate finance commitments at COP31 and the United States has withdrawn from global warming efforts. Simon Stiell of the UNFCCC and other officials pushed for a $1.3 trillion annual goal for developing countries by 2035. Although the Pacific Resilience Facility received new pledges from several nations, including Fiji, it remains short of its $500 million year-end target.
