Climate Conference COP31 Kicks Off Amid Climate, Finance Pressures

The COP31 climate talks kicked off Monday with an early fight over money as the UN's chief urged world leaders to "get serious" about tackling the crisis after a year of devastating weather extremes.Antonio Guterres made his plea as thousands of participants descended on a sprawling expo centre in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya for the UN's annual two-week climate conference.The summit comes after a year of punishing heatwaves in Europe, major wildfires in Indonesia and catastrophic floods in Nepal, with an exceptionally strong El Nino weather phenomenon fuelling more climate chaos.Observers expect few major breakthroughs at COP31 as countries grapple with an oil price shock and geopolitical tensions fuelled by the US war with Iran and Russia's conflict in Ukraine.In a statement, the UN secretary-general urged leaders to "get serious by cutting emissions faster, accelerating a just transition from fossil fuels and delivering the finance and protection vulnerable countries need".Old battles over money emerged even before COP31 started, with negotiators debating until the…