ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday arrived at the COP31 Antalya Leaders’ Summit in Turkiye, where he is set to highlight Pakistan’s climate priorities, along with other world leaders. Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya as global greenhouse gas emissions show little sign of falling and wars, inflation and other crises compete for political attention.
The world leaders will begin their speeches in the afternoon and continue through the day on Thursday, according to the COP31 schedule. Ahead of the conference, PM Shehbaz arrived at the venue where he was received by Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Pakistan TV reported. World leaders, including PM Shehbaz, gathered for a group photograph at the summit, it added.
Wednesday’s speakers are also expected to include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was re-elected at the end of October, and whose country hosted last year’s climate talks. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine will also speak on Wednesday. The United States, the world’s largest historical emitter, has skipped the talks for the second year in a row after President Donald Trump — who has called global warming a hoax — withdrew the US from climate coop