UN climate summit kicks off in Turkey after a disastrous year of extreme weather

ANTALYA, Turkey -- World leaders, delegates and climate activists on Monday kicked off talks in Turkey on curbing climate change, which in the last year has led to rising temperatures and deadly heat waves in Europe and beyond, and played a role in disasters such as the devastating floods in Nepal.This U.N. climate summit — called the Conference of the Parties, or COP31 — comes as the war in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, hiking global prices of gasoline, oil and products made with them, such as fertilizers and pesticides. The disruption has pushed governments to rethink energy policies and increased investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar. “COP31 must supercharge solutions,” U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said at the opening session. An estimated 68,500 people are to attend the two-week event and nearly 25,000 people will help ensure the conference goes smoothly. Stiell said that agreeing on practical solutions, such as reducing methane emissions, can be “planetary icepacks” that can help reduce global heating. Methane stays in the atmosphere for a shorter time but warms the planet much faster than other planet-heating gases. Using renewable-...