Climate is not one issue among others on the table: it is the table itself

As wars, technological rivalries, trade tensions and political polarisation fuel a retreat into isolation, the COPs remain one of the few constants of international cooperation. The 31st edition opens in Türkiye.

This continuity is far from trivial. It reminds us that behind the crises dominating the headlines, an even deeper drama is unfolding. Climate is not just another item on the table. It is the table itself! Because behind the climate question lie the questions of energy, of the resources that power our economies, and of the conditions that may (or may not) allow humanity to remain on this planet. Nothing less.

What is at stake, then, is our model. How can we enable billions of people to reach a legitimate level of prosperity, and others to preserve theirs, while respecting planetary boundaries?

In my view, this is not about giving up on development. It is about breaking with an economic model based on quantity, where creating wealth always demands more energy and raw materials. True progress means replacing what pollutes and wastes with what protects the environment and builds an economy of efficiency: doing better with less, so we can move to a qualitative economy, a third way between unrealistic degrowth and unlimited growth that leads to ecological disaster.

COP31's goals for 2035 are therefore commendable: raising the share of electricity in final energy consumption from 20% to 35%, and cutting the energy intensity of buildings by 25%.

Countless profitable solutions for businesses and consumers already exist to get there, in every sector (more than 2,000 identified so far by the Solar Impulse Foundation!). The challenge is no longer so much to invent as to deploy, at scale, what we have already invented.

Yet a solution can be technically available, economically profitable and ecologically essential, and still not be adopted. This is a paradox that COP31 must help resolve.

Having worked daily with these solution providers for the past 10 years, I see three obstacles: polluting habits that are still profitable, a narrative that frames the transition as a sacrifice rather than a benefit, and the need for upfront investment that slows the adoption of solutions.

The first can only be addressed through appropriate rules that reflect strong political commitments. That is the spirit of the roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels announced at COP28 in Dubai. This obstacle is probably the most formidable: favouring clean solutions and turning ecological modernisation into a competitive advantage requires a form of global governance, which is the very reason the COPs exist.

The second is in our minds. As long as the transition is told as a series of sacrifices, it will meet more resistance than support. To bring economic, political and social actors on board, let us instead show its many benefits: lower costs, sovereignty, jobs, competitiveness and quality of life.

As for the last obstacle, the financial one: why require businesses or individuals to invest first in order to save later, when energy performance contracts, in the form of servitisation, can let them save from day one? This is the kind of economic revolution now under way, and COP31 must accelerate it.

Not all of these questions will be resolved in Antalya between 9 and 20 November. But the fact that the challenge is immense is no reason to give up on meeting it.