World leaders are scheduled to begin formal discussions Wednesday at the United Nations climate conference in Turkey, facing pressure to turn past commitments into concrete action after a year of deadly floods, heat waves and other climate-related disasters.

The COP31 conference officially opened Monday, with Turkey hosting and Australia leading negotiations. The Associated Press, in reporting published by CityNews, said uncertainty remains over what governments can agree to and whether their commitments will translate into action.

The talks follow several rounds of negotiations that have left unresolved differences over reducing fossil fuel use. At the 2023 conference in Dubai, delegates agreed to transition away from coal, oil and gas, which are the leading contributor to climate change. Subsequent conferences in Azerbaijan and Brazil produced little agreement on reductions. Last year’s meeting in Brazil ended with a compromise pledging additional funding to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.

Scientists say warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, according to the AP report. Limiting the temperature rise to that threshold was a goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement and has remained a focus of international negotiations.

This year’s discussions also take place against an energy-policy backdrop shaped by the war in Iran. Higher global prices for gasoline, oil and products made with them, including fertilizers and pesticides, have pushed governments to reconsider energy policies and investment in renewable sources such as wind and solar.

“We don’t need more promises, we need plans,” said John Kerry, the former U.S. secretary of state and presidential climate envoy.

The United States, the world’s second-largest polluter after China, is absent for a second consecutive year. President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has targeted offshore wind projects and removed rules limiting emissions from power plants, AP reported.

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