Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge
Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.
ANKARA — As Turkey hosts the annual UN climate summit for the first time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to urge world leaders in Antalya on Wednesday to back a global goal of raising electricity’s share of energy use to 35% by 2035 in an effort to slow global warming.
But the Iran war is complicating the effort. Disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up natural gas prices, prompting some power producers to switch back to coal.
The United Nations annual climate talks kicked off on Monday in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkey, where Erdogan will host the leaders' summit on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 72 heads of state or government from around the world are set to attend the two-day gathering, including leaders and senior officials from some of the Middle East's biggest energy-producing countries, among them Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi President Nizar Amedi. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman arrived in Antalya on Tuesday.
The prime ministers of Algeria, Lebanon, Libya and Yemen are scheduled to address the summit on Thursday. Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Syria are expected to send senior officials, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
