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UN chief urges faster climate action as COP31 talks open in Turkey

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum.

5 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Older man in dark suit speaking at podium with United Nations Climate Change and COP31 Türkiye logos.
Image via Al Jazeera EnglishHow images are chosenReport this image

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders on Wednesday to act urgently on climate change as formal talks opened at the COP31 conference in Antalya, Turkey. Al Jazeera reports that he accused the fossil fuel lobby of delaying climate action, and the Boston Globe quotes him saying fossil fuels are ‘killing our planet.’ The Washington Times reports he warned of deadly floods and heat waves. On Thursday, UPI reported that leaders at the summit warned international efforts are falling behind, and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the world will reach 1.5 degrees of warming. Activist Greta Thunberg, attending for the first time in five years, accused wealthy nations of failing to take meaningful action.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. UN chief Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to act urgently on climate change as formal talks opened at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Right
    The Washington Times

  2. Guterres accused the fossil fuel lobby of delaying climate action, according to Al Jazeera.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

  3. Guterres warned that deadly floods and heat waves are being driven by global warming.

    One outletThe Washington Times· Right

  4. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said international agreement on climate science has weakened and the world will reach 1.5 degrees of warming.

    One outletUnited Press International· Center

  5. Greta Thunberg accused wealthy governments of failing to take meaningful action on climate change.

    One outletUnited Press International· Center

How each side tells it

Compare views

Left and right outlets report Guterres urged faster climate action as COP31 opened in Turkey, while UPI’s Thursday report covers leaders warning that goals are slipping. The left stresses fossil fuel blame and urgency, while the right stresses deadly floods and heat waves.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left-rated headlines quote Guterres directly in urgent terms, and the Far Left Boston Globe is the most emphatic, blaming fossil fuels for ‘killing our planet.’

    Fossil fuels are ‘Sensational language“killing our planet”Vivid quoted wording is given top billing in the headline, although the speaker’s policy argument is less prominent.More neutral: harming the planetThese are UN chief’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?,’ UN chief warns at climate talks
    The Boston GlobeFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    UPI’s single center report frames the summit as leaders warning that climate goals are slipping away, focusing on their remarks rather than Guterres’s speech.

    COP31: Leaders warn climate goals slipping away
    United Press InternationalCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The Washington Times headline is descriptive, framing the talks as a call for stronger and faster action over an inadequate response to warming.

    World leaders urge stronger and faster action at U.N. climate talks over inadequate response
    The Washington TimesRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    a path to destruction

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    a path to destructionMore neutral: on track for severe climate impacts

    The outlet’s own voice describes the climate outlook in dramatic terms that the coverage does not attribute to anyone.

    …leaders’ immediate response to climate change, which has put the world on a path to destruction, at the 31st Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye.

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    killing our planetMore neutral: harming the planet

    Vivid quoted wording is given top billing in the headline, although the speaker’s policy argument is less prominent.

    Fossil fuels are ‘killing our planet,’ UN chief warns at climate talks

    Quoted byThe Boston Globe (Far Left)

    These are UN chief’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • fossil fuel blame
  • urgency of the crisis
  • Guterres’s direct words
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Boston GlobeFar Left

    Leaders of countries already hit hard by climate change tell UN summit that urgent action is needed

    ANTALYA, Turkey — Urgent action is needed to help countries hardest-hit by the effects of climate change, small island leaders said Thursday at the United Nations climate talks in Turkey, describing global warming as a life-or-death issue for their people. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)
  • The Boston GlobeFar Left

    Fossil fuels are ‘Sensational language“killing our planet”Vivid quoted wording is given top billing in the headline, although the speaker’s policy argument is less prominent.More neutral: harming the planetThese are UN chief’s words. The outlet is reporting them.Disagree with this highlight?,’ UN chief warns at climate talks

    He and others acknowledged that the world has failed to meet the goal it established in the Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit rising global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    ‘Climate crisis is outrunning us,’ UN chief Guterres says at COP31

    Guterres says the world must fight harder, accuses the fossil fuel lobby of delaying climate action at critical talks.

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • slipping climate goals
  • leaders’ warnings
  • Burnham’s remarks on the science consensus

Leaves out

  • Guterres’s remarks at the opening of talks

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • stronger and faster action
  • inadequate response
  • deadly floods and heat waves
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Washington TimesRight

    World leaders urge stronger and faster action at U.N. climate talks over inadequate response

    It's time to act decisively and urgently to curb global warming, which is wreaking havoc with deadly floods,heat waves and other disasters, the United Nations chief told world leaders Wednesday as formal talks began at the U.N. climate conference in Turkey.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Nov 11, 7:48 AM EST

  • Center

    1 day 5 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 1:20 PM EST

  • Right

    2 hr 10 min later

    Its first report, Nov 11, 9:57 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 11, 7:48 AM EST
  2. The Washington TimesRightNov 11, 9:57 AM EST
  3. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 11, 5:43 PM EST
  4. United Press InternationalCenterNov 12, 1:20 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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