COP31 president urges leaders to close the climate finance gap

COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum urged world leaders to treat climate finance as a strategic security priority and allocate greater resources to clean energy, electrification, resilient cities, and green industry. The call was made during the Climate Finance Summit in Istanbul, which brought together private banks, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, and climate funds. The COP31 Presidency estimated global climate finance needs at between 7.5 and 9 trillion dollars, compared with current investment of approximately 1.9 trillion dollars. It also presented the Istanbul Declaration on Climate Implementation and Finance, linked to the goal of increasing electricity to 35% of global final energy consumption by 2035. UNDP was also appointed as the implementing partner of the Climate Implementation Bridge, an initiative intended to convert climate and development priorities into project portfolios ready to receive financing.