COP31 climate summit opens with leaders under pressure to tackle the climate crisis

Summary

The COP31 climate talks opened on Monday with world leaders under pressure to tackle the climate crisis. The talks began with an early fight over money, and the U.N.'s chief urged world leaders to "get serious" about the crisis. The summit follows a year of punishing heatwaves in Europe, major wildfires in Indonesia and catastrophic floods in Nepal, with an exceptionally strong El Nino weather phenomenon fuelling more climate chaos.

Timeline

1. Channel NewsAsia

   9 Nov 2026, 10:51 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that the COP31 climate talks opened with leaders under pressure to tackle the climate crisis, after a year of punishing heatwaves in Europe, major wildfires in Indonesia and catastrophic floods in Nepal, with an exceptionally strong El Nino fuelling more climate chaos.

2. Phys.org

   9 Nov 2026, 13:20 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that the COP31 climate talks kicked off Monday with an early fight over money, as the U.N.'s chief urged world leaders to "get serious" about tackling the crisis after a year of devastating weather extremes.