Delegates from nearly 200 countries are gathering through Nov. 20 as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, now in its ninth month, has upended energy markets. The unprecedented closure of the Strait of Hormuz and spiking oil and natural gas prices have laid bare the fragility of relying on fossil fuels, according to energy analysts.

But this crisis differs from the oil shocks of the 1970s and the one that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, said Kingsmill Bond, an analyst at the energy think tank Ember. "This is the first time you've really had a global energy shock where you've got really cheap solutions to address it," Bond said.

Those solutions — solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles — have prompted countries around the world to pivot sharply toward clean energy technologies in recent months. Many of those technologies are produced in China and offer economic security as well as reduced emissions.

The economic case for climate solutions will make it easier for countries to support them at the conference, Bond said. "There's much more opportunity, I think, for people to get behind change at COP."

**Electrification takes center stage**

This year's talks have been dubbed "the electrification COP" by some observers. The central target, Bond said, is for the world to increase its electrification rate from around 23% today to roughly 35% by 2035. "So 35 by '35 is the mantra," he said.

Those goals assume countries will grow their electricity mix with cleaner renewable energy. Energy experts say that is a reasonable assumption, because large solar and wind projects now provide more cost-competitive energy than natural gas and coal projects, according to financial services firm Lazard.

"Think about solar, wind," said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. "More green energy will help you decarbonize better and faster."

**A roadmap off fossil fuels**

As the COP process enters its 31st year, many countries have argued that the U.N. process has not done enough to tackle the single biggest driver of climate change: burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have consistently opposed including fossil fuel language in the text of final conference agreements.

In April, more than 50 countries came together to discuss ways to phase out oil, gas and coal at the First International Conference to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, held in Colombia. Organizers described the gathering as a way to complement the U.N. process. More than 25 of those nations are now developing a legally binding treaty that would advance a phase-out of fossil fuels. Supporters of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative hope more countries will join their cause at COP31.

**The U.S. is not in the room**

The U.S. State Department said in an email that the U.S. will not be sending a delegation to COP31. It also did not send anyone to last year's COP in Brazil.

The Trump administration has reversed action on climate progress, phasing out subsidies for electric vehicles, solar and wind, reducing regulations for greenhouse gases, and halting renewable energy projects.

Last year, some countries said they were happy that the Trump administration was not at the climate talks. "Generally, it's a good thing they're not here because we have less recalcitrants to deal with," Ralph Regenvanu, minister of climate change of Vanuatu, said at the time.

But some Democratic lawmakers will be at COP31, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. Fresh off Democrats' midterm victory sweep, Whitehouse said he and other lawmakers plan to keep the focus on fossil fuels and a potential carbon pricing mechanism.

"It cannot remain free for the fossil fuel industry to pollute if we want to have any chance of a pathway to climate safety," Whitehouse said.

The talks in Antalya are scheduled to run through Nov. 20.