Global | Climate summits: from promises to implementation

Climate summits, such as the COP31 in Antalya (Turkey) this November, are like a construction project with good blueprints and materials that is progressing slowly. Thirty years of COPs have built a global governance framework with voluntary national emission reduction targets, rules for carbon credit trading, and also voluntary financing goals, but progress remains insufficient.

According to United Nations estimates cited by BBVA Research, the expected global warming by the end of the century under the climate policies in place at any given time has fallen from 3.7 ºC in 2015 (when the Paris Agreement was approved) to 2.8 ºC in 2025. If all commitments were fully met, the projection would drop to 2.3-2.5 ºC, still above the 1.5-2.0 ºC target.

That is why COP31, with an unprecedented formula—Turkey in the presidency and Australia leading the formal negotiations—should be measured less by its announcements than by the implementation details of those announcements. The proposal for a new mechanism to accelerate climate execution (Climate Implementation Bridge) points in that direction. Its goal is to connect national plans with economic policy, investment projects, and financing, especially in emerging economies.

There are also concrete objectives that facilitate accountability. Among them are raising global electrification from just over 20% to 35% of final energy consumption by 2035, reducing the energy intensity of buildings by at least 25%, curbing waste growth, and increasing the use of recycled materials in industry. Although electrification is not enough: the new demand must be met with low-carbon generation and must displace, not simply accompany, fossil fuels.

Financing will be the litmus test for the agreements. The previous goal of $100 billion per year in climate finance for developing countries was already met late. The new bar—at least $300 billion by 2035 and a broader mobilization goal of $1.3 trillion—needs intermediate milestones, guarantees of compliance, instruments, and better access conditions to facilitate private participation.

Climate policies work, but they are not free of short-term costs, which depend on design and the recycling of revenues toward sustainable investment and compensation for those most affected. However, delaying action, especially in adaptation, is not free either, as shown by the consequences of more frequent disruptive climate events. The lesson for Antalya is simple: less attention to the list of promises and more dashboards on commitments and tasks, including private sector initiatives. A useful COP will be one that leaves behind, in addition to climate coherence, measurable objectives, execution plans, identifiable financing, and guarantees of compliance.

Press article. Published in El País on September 4, 2026.