At COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, leaders are making the case that climate action can strengthen economies and ease living costs, hoping to keep it on governments’ agendas as they contend with competing crises.

Simon Stiell, head of the UN climate office, said volatile energy markets and climate disasters are fueling inflation, straining public budgets and pushing up household bills, while climate action could help relieve the pressure.

The political stakes are heightened by inflation tied partly to disruptions in Middle Eastern oil shipments since the start of the US-Israel war against Iran, which have raised fuel and food prices and created pressure in the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said three-quarters of humanity live in countries that import fossil fuels and face price shocks they cannot control; he argued that recent conflicts highlight the security and cost-of-living risks of that dependence, and that renewable energy offers a way to reduce them.

European energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said cutting reliance on fossil fuels could win support even from climate sceptics because it improves energy security.

That economic and security framing comes as climate change has become politically divisive, particularly in the United States, where President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international climate cooperation after calling warming a hoax.

Many speakers nevertheless argued that climate policy should be grounded in evidence that human-caused global warming is dangerous, with Slovenia’s President Natasa Pirc Musar urging decisions based on facts rather than short-term political interests.

John Kerry welcomed the broader pitch, saying climate advocates should connect action to issues people care about, including security, health, jobs, community stability and food supplies.