“The planet is not dying — it is being killed, and we know exactly who is doing it,” Greta Thunberg said on Thursday during her address at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey.
The 23-year-old Swedish activist made her first appearance at the annual United Nations climate talks in five years, criticizing world governments for failing to prevent environmental collapse and warning that the ongoing crisis is leading toward more conflicts, ecocides, and human rights violations, as reported by the Guardian.
Thunberg first rose to prominence in 2018 at the age of 15 when she started a solitary school strike for climate outside the Swedish parliament. Since then, she has published “The Climate Book” in 2022 to outline actions addressing the climate crisis, won multiple awards, and engaged in advocacy for other causes such as the Free Palestine movement, which included being arrested in London last year while supporting hunger-striking pro-Palestinian activists.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo addressed the Antalya Leaders’ Summit at #COP31, calling world leaders to invest in the people and instruments that observe our planet and help protect lives and livelihoods. Read the full statement: https://t.co/4B5b9n1ICo pic.twitter.com/UiBh43QUbr
Thunberg arrived in Antalya earlier in the week, initially condemning the proceedings as hypocritical and arguing that host countries are given opportunities to whitewash themselves while negotiations remain filled with lobbyists from destructive industries, according to NBC News. She appeared alongside youth and indigenous activists, including Rikki Dank, a Gudanji and Wakaya Traditional Owner, to challenge the pace of emissions cuts.
On the sidelines of the summit, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his administration against criticism from Thunberg—who compared Australia’s pace of climate action to that of a snail—noting that the country maintains a target of reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and is making substantial progress.
Andy Burnham Pledges Net Zero Emissions at Climate Summit
The summit brought together delegates and leaders to debate faltering progress under global climate goals. Andy Burnham, the British prime minister and the only G7 leader to attend the talks, described the record hot summer in the UK as not normal in a speech, according to Ukrainian National News (UNN).
Burnham pledged that the United Kingdom would reach net zero emissions and supported proposals to further electrify national economies. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that the final two years of the Trump presidency would not bring fundamental changes to U.S. climate policy, stating that he does not expect any outcome other than a doubling down of existing efforts.
Beth John, a climate justice adviser at Oxfam GB, said that Burnham’s presence “sends a positive signal,” though she added that “Presence alone is not enough: a crisis of this scale requires real action, not just signals. The real test of climate leadership is delivery, not declarations,” as detailed by the Guardian.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also challenged the conference hosts to be more ambitious in sending fossil fuels toward obsolescence, remarking that fossil fuel interests keep making a killing while killing the planet.
Representatives of vulnerable nations pressed leaders for immediate results. Alix Sebastien Pillay, the vice president of Seychelles, warned that his 115-island archipelago faces an existential threat, stating that “It is time to move past the talking,” according to The Independent.
Dalton Tagelagi, the prime minister of Niue, warned that sea temperatures in the central Pacific are more than three degrees above normal. Additionally, Nepal’s Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary spoke about a devastating landslide in August caused by glacial melting that killed more than 1,500 people, describing the catastrophe to the Guardian as a “mountain tsunami.”
No country can protect itself from climate change alone. We share one planet – and whether we like it or not – we share one fate. So my message as I leave #COP31 is simple: Face the facts. Follow the science. Choose the future. And never give up. pic.twitter.com/15Ji7rzBXo
Crude Oil Shipments Leave Turkish Port for Israel
Her press conference followed an updated report jointly authored by the European Freedom and Fairness Programme (EFFP), the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the Progressive International, revealing that 77 crude oil shipments totaling nearly 6,463 kilotonnes left the Turkish port of Ceyhan for Israel between May 2024 and June 2026, despite Ankara’s trade embargo declared in May 2024.
Data from vessel-tracking firm Kpler cited by Reuters showed that Azerbaijani crude exports to Israel surged by 31 percent in 2025, reaching their highest level since 2022.
Local leaders have been crucial in the fight for #ClimateAction. They are mobilizing citizens, accelerating the shift to clean energy, cutting pollution, building resilience & creating jobs. At #COP31, I met with mayors & governors from around the world who are helping turn… pic.twitter.com/IRMcP7caVu
Turkish hosts have addressed regional conflicts at the summit, and Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of Palestine, delivered a speech in the main conference room that drew a standing ovation from delegates as he detailed how restrictions on land, water, and natural resources have compounded Palestinian climate challenges during the three-year war.
Meanwhile, discussions among delegations continued regarding global electrification targets, with proponents pushing for clean energy specifications in the final agreement text ahead of the conference’s scheduled conclusion on November 20, 2026, as noted by the Los Angeles Times.
Earlier coverage: Andy Burnham Warns Climate Consensus Has Gone at COP31 Summit