UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the climate summit in Turkey that dependence on fossil fuels was driving climate change and imposing economic and security costs. He said the European Union had incurred more than €100 billion in additional fossil-fuel import costs since the Iran war began, without receiving additional fuel, while petrol prices had risen by about 26% and diesel prices by 38% in 130 countries. He also said nine oil companies were on track to earn more than €95 billion in three months. Shell and BP were cited as examples of companies reporting substantial profits.

Guterres called for clear follow-up steps to move away from fossil fuels. The summit was also taking place amid a reported slight decline in fossil-fuel CO2 emissions, alongside a record year for coal. Brazil had prepared a roadmap on reducing fossil-fuel use at the previous summit, but the extent to which the issue would advance this time remained uncertain. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had praised an expected increase in domestic oil production, while the absence of several prominent leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was described as reflecting the issue’s low priority among some influential countries.