From Antalya, Turkey, 100 leaders—including Nikos Christodoulides—are determining the next steps to save the planet from its greatest threat. Climate change. Nikos Christodoulides sent a message of cooperation to all countries in the region to combat the crisis through renewable energy sources, while making sure, from the very beginning of his speech, to send a clear message regarding the sovereign status of the Republic of Cyprus from Turkish territory.
“The Republic of Cyprus, a sovereign, equal, and independent member state of the UN, comes to Antalya with a clear message: the climate crisis demands political leadership, collective responsibility, and, above all, decisive action. Climate change transcends politics and knows no borders.”
Nikos Christodoulides – President of the Republic
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Provocative Turkey
The Turkish announcer left the podium a few minutes before Nikos Christodoulides was to speak so as not to address him as “His Excellency the Head of State,” while Turkish media cut off their television broadcast during his speech. Ultimately, another diplomat representing the UN addressed the President of the Republic as usual.
Turkish “maneuvers” against Christodoulides
Reports indicate that the signs and markings of the Cypriot delegation, as well as the vehicles transporting the President from the airport, read “Southern Cyprus,” a move that was prevented at the last minute following the intervention of the European Union Ambassador to Turkey, who deemed it unacceptable.
The summit’s agenda
COP31 is at the center of international diplomacy, with the climate crisis returning to the top of the global agenda.
In dramatic terms, António Guterres, at his final climate summit, shortly before stepping down from the helm of the international organization, acknowledged that climate change is defeating us and issued a final appeal.
“It is time to stop treating the transition away from fossil fuels as taboo. Now, here at COP31, we must move from discussing the transition to organizing it, financing it, and implementing it.”
António Guterres – UN Secretary-General
The Notable Absences
The conference has been weakened by the notable absences of major economic and energy players. Among those absent are Trump, Macron, Merz, and Meloni.
Andy Burnham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is the only G7 leader included on the list of speakers.
Watch Evangelos Agapios’s report:
