Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will address the Leaders' Summit of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya today, Wednesday 11 November, urging the world to take concrete action on climate change and to make climate finance predictable, adequate and accessible for developing countries. The prime minister arrived in the Turkish city on Tuesday for a visit running from 10 to 12 November, the Prime Minister's Office said.

According to the Foreign Office, Shehbaz Sharif will use the address to highlight Pakistan's steps towards rapid solarisation and the expansion of its renewable energy capacity, as part of the country's transition to a cleaner and more climate-resilient economy. He will also set out Pakistan's efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness and early-warning systems. The News reports that the prime minister is scheduled to speak to the Leaders' Summit today, while NAM News reports that he will press the global community to act on the threat climate change poses to the planet.

What Pakistan will put on the table

Climate finance is expected to dominate Pakistan's message. Islamabad has repeatedly urged developed countries to fulfil their commitment to mobilise $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing nations, and to provide more funding for adaptation and disaster resilience. The prime minister's call for finance that is predictable, adequate and accessible echoes that long-standing position, and frames climate change as a question of economic justice and international responsibility, not only an environmental concern.

Pakistan's delegation will also point to the country's accelerating shift to solar power. The Foreign Office said the prime minister will highlight rapid solarisation alongside the expansion of renewable energy, presenting it as evidence that Pakistan is acting on its own transition even as it asks wealthier nations to honour their funding pledges.

More than one speech in Antalya

The prime minister's programme in Antalya goes beyond the Leaders' Summit address. He will also speak at the High-Level Dialogue on Clean Energy Transition and Electrification, titled "35 by 35: Powering the Future", and attend a high-level roundtable convened by the COP31 presidency on the sidelines of the summit. Bilateral meetings with the Turkish leadership and other world leaders are also planned.

Shehbaz Sharif is accompanied by PPP leader Sherry Rehman, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and the prime minister's adviser Tariq Fatemi, according to the Prime Minister's Office. On arrival at Antalya airport on Tuesday he was received by Turkiye's Deputy Minister for Culture and Tourism, Gokhan Yazgi, Pakistan's ambassador-designate to Turkiye, Amina Baloch, and senior Turkish officials.

Finance fight opens COP31

COP31, hosted by Turkiye in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, opened on Monday with climate finance already an early point of contention between developed and developing nations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to take more decisive action after a year marked by extreme weather, including heatwaves, wildfires and devastating floods.

For Pakistan, the summit is a chance to keep that finance argument at the centre of the talks. The prime minister's address today will be the clearest statement yet of what Islamabad wants from the fortnight in Antalya: money that arrives on time, in sufficient amounts, and through channels developing countries can actually use.