At COP31, look beyond the biggest emitters
Indian Express - Opinion · Published 11 November 2026 · Last updated
COP31 climate summit negotiations in Antalya must shift responsibility beyond major emitters to include small, super-affluent countries whose historical lifestyles drive unsustainable warming levels.
Key points
- Policymakers gathered in Antalya, Turkey, for COP31 with the goal to implement solutions to slow warming, limit overshoot, and help countries adapt.
- The United States, the world's second-largest polluter and historically biggest emitter, formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement at the start of the year and skipped the summit.
- Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah stated at the UN General Assembly in September that a Himalayan tsunami killed nearly 1,500 people with over 5,000 missing, while India's summer monsoon was weakened by a Super El Niño.
- Peer-reviewed research in Climate Policy establishes that if humanity lived like the average American, the Earth would have already warmed about 3.7°C by 2022 against actual warming of 1.3°C.
- Small super-affluent countries like Singapore, Luxembourg, and Qatar would have driven warming to 2°C, nearly 4°C, and a staggering 5+°C respectively if universalised.
- Historical lifestyles of Least Developed Countries would have led to a mere 0.6°C of warming and 0.8°C for India.
- The COP31 Presidency launched its flagship Global Electrification Pledge amidst an energy price shock driven by conflict in Iran.
- The United Kingdom approved the Jackdaw gas field as conflicts in the Middle East closed the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up global prices of oil, gas, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Background
- The Paris Agreement entered into force a decade prior to the COP31 climate summit held from November 9 to 20, 2026.
- Global greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal have consistently pushed the world past the 1.5°C global warming threshold.
- The conflict involving Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, triggering energy price shocks and disrupting global supply chains for essential commodities like fertilizers.
Prelims facts and Mains angle for this issue are in the full SWAदेSH note.
Original report: Indian Express - Opinion