Long Queues and Big Questions at COP31 Climate Summit
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Attendees at the COP31 climate summit faced long queues before dawn, highlighting serious logistical problems with the event's organization.
COP31 is the latest edition of the United Nations climate conference, where world leaders and officials gather to discuss how to tackle climate change.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke out during the summit. He said the transition away from fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal should not be treated as a 'taboo' topic that countries avoid discussing.
Guterres also insisted that this challenge is not an 'intractable' problem, meaning it is not impossible to solve if countries work together.
Fossil fuels are a major cause of climate change because burning them releases gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Many nations have debated how quickly they can reduce their use.
Brazil, which is hosting this year's COP, used the summit to highlight a drop in deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This is seen as a positive sign in the fight against climate change, since the Amazon absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide.
However, the event has raised a bigger question: how can Brazil, and the world more broadly, go further on the climate agenda? Reducing deforestation is one achievement, but experts argue that much more needs to be done on issues like the fossil fuel transition.
The early-morning queues may seem like a small detail, but they point to wider concerns about whether COP31 is properly organized to handle the scale of global attention and participation it has attracted.
Vocabulary9 words
- COP31
- the UN's yearly climate conference, numbered 31
- logistical
- related to organizing and planning an event
- climate change
- long-term warming of the Earth caused by human activity
- Secretary-General
- the most senior official in the United Nations
- fossil fuels
- oil, gas, and coal burned for energy
- intractable
- extremely difficult or impossible to solve
- deforestation
- the clearing or cutting down of forests
- Amazon
- the world's largest rainforest, located in South America
- carbon dioxide
- a gas that traps heat and causes warming
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Logistical difficulties in organizing the event 2. As a solvable challenge, not a taboo 3. A decrease in deforestation
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Attendees at the _____ climate summit faced long queues before dawn.
This highlighted serious _____ problems with the event's organization.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the transition away from _____ should not be a 'taboo' topic.
He insisted that this challenge is not an '_____' problem.
Burning fossil fuels releases gases that trap heat, contributing to _____.
Brazil used the summit to highlight a drop in _____ in the Amazon rainforest.
The Amazon absorbs large amounts of _____.
Experts argue much more needs to be done on the fossil fuel _____.
The early-morning queues point to wider concerns about how the event is _____.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think logistical problems can affect a major event like COP31?
- What does it mean to call fossil fuel transition a 'taboo' or 'intractable' problem?
- How significant do you think a drop in Amazon deforestation is for global climate goals?
- What more do you think countries like Brazil could do to advance the climate agenda?
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