Carbon News | Major Breakthrough in Sodium-Ion Batteries Offers Hope for Solving Energy Storage Challenges in Sandy, Gobi, and Desert Regions

The research team focused on liquid-phase preparation processes, optimizing precursor morphology and carbon distribution via spray drying to enhance material consistency. Starting from the microstructure of sodium iron phosphate–pyrophosphate cathode materials, they adopted a multi-pronged strategy—including doping modification, carbon composite coating, and crystal-phase optimization—to significantly improve low-temperature capacity retention while maintaining high material stability, thereby better adapting the battery to repeated charge-discharge cycles under the extreme cold conditions of Northwest China. (Source: Economic Reference News) 02 China’s carbon emissions declined by 0.5%, while U.S. emissions rose by 2.4% On November 7, the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Society released the Global Energy Transition Report (2026), indicating that China has established the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. The report notes that fossil fuel activities remain the largest global source of carbon emissions. In 2025, global energy-related CO₂ emissions increased by 0.4% year-on-year to 38.4 billion tons—the lowest growth rate since 2021. Specifically, China’s carbon emissions fell by 0.5%, whereas U.S. emissions rose by 2.4%, making the United States the largest contributor to global emission growth. By end-2025, global renewable energy installed capacity grew 15.5% year-on-year to 5,149 gigawatts; renewable power generation accounted for 33.8% of total electricity generation—the first time in a century it surpassed coal-fired power generation (33.0%). China’s total energy investment in 2026 is projected to reach $940 billion—ranking first globally. Chinese renewable energy technologies continue to dominate worldwide, supplying 70% of global wind power equipment and 80% of photovoltaic modules, driving down global wind and solar power generation costs by over 60% and 80%, respectively. (Source: CCTV News) 03 COP31 officially opens: Global climate action enters a pivotal year of delivering commitments At 11:00 a.m. local time on November 9, the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) officially opened in Antalya, a coastal city in Turkey. This year’s conference adopts the “dual-chair” model for the first time: Turkey serves as the host country, advancing the global climate action agenda and proposing ten priority areas—including electrification and zero-waste initiatives—while Australia acts as the negotiation chair, leading formal intergovernmental negotiations. Turkey, as host, has designated this COP’s theme as “The COP of Implementation.” Murat Kurum, Turkey’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, previously stated that this COP emphasizes accelerated implementation, aiming to translate climate commitments made at previous COPs into concrete, quantifiable outcomes. Moreover, 2026 marks the beginning of a new decade under the Paris Agreement, and this COP will also launch the second Global Stocktake to assess collective progress in implementing the Agreement. (Source: CCTV News) 04 After lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide futures are about to launch On November 6, China’s Securities Regulatory Commission issued a notice approving the registration of lithium hydroxide futures and options at the Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFE). Lithium hydroxide is a critical basic lithium salt and a key raw material for high-nickel ternary batteries, effectively enhancing the driving range of new-energy vehicles and meeting the high energy-density demands of emerging sectors such as low-altitude aircraft and embodied AI. As a traditional industrial base chemical, lithium hydroxide is also widely used in chemical engineering, metallurgy, and other fields.

The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Turkey in November 2026 | Highlights of COP31

To avoid this 'lose-lose' scenario, after years of diplomatic negotiations, the two sides finally reached a historic compromise at COP30 in late 2025. This agreement established, for the first time in history, a co-hosting model separating the host country from the negotiation chair country. Turkey will serve as the host country, responsible for providing the venue, logistical support, head-of-state-level hospitality, and organization of side events. Australia will act as the negotiation chair country, with its Minister for Climate Change and Energy leading the core intergovernmental negotiation process to ensure the agenda addresses concerns of both small island developing states and advanced economies. Additionally, prior to the formal conference, Australia and Pacific Island nations will jointly host a special pre-conference focusing specifically on sea-level rise. ▼ Related past coverage from Hai Chao Tian Xia: COP30 Presidency Launches Dual Roadmap Consultation to Accelerate Fossil Fuel Phase-Out and Halt Deforestation; COP30 Chair (Brazil): Why Does Climate Multilateralism Require 'Dual Speed'? The Brake Is Applied—but the Accelerator Remains Unreleased! COP30 Releases the Global Methane Assessment Report 2025 ▲ Above: Official promotional poster for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP31), released by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Turkey. Rendered in a thick oil-painting artistic style, the image depicts green terraced farmland, white wind turbines, and solar panels on the left, against a backdrop of blue sky, white clouds, and the sun. Centered prominently is the white slogan 'See you at COP31! Türkiye'. At the top appears the official COP'31 logo featuring a colorful ring design; at the bottom are the official emblem and English name of the hosting ministry—immediately signaling this year’s host country highlights. Image source: Turkish Ministry of Environment A Critical Juncture Entering the Implementation Era COP31 has been defined by the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC as 'a critical juncture entering the implementation era.' Unlike previous COPs, which emphasized setting long-term goals, this conference will focus more sharply on concrete, actionable measures. First, comprehensive review of the Paris Agreement. As 2026 marks a crucial verification period following the Paris Agreement’s adoption, countries will submit and review updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targeting 2035. The conference will prioritize assessing whether countries have translated their 2030 emission-reduction pledges into specific domestic legislation and industrial policies. Second, addressing the 'last-mile' challenge of climate finance. Financing remains the focal point of North–South tensions. This COP faces immense pressure to operationalize quantitative targets: COP29 in 2024 already agreed upon a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), centered on $30 billion annually, with an overarching macro-target of $130 billion per year. COP31’s challenge lies in implementing this newly established—and substantially larger—funding target, including detailed allocation mechanisms. Simultaneously, having completed framework establishment and initial capitalization across multiple COPs, the Loss and Damage Fund will shift its focus at COP31 toward finalizing operational rules and enabling large-scale disbursement. Ensuring transparency and predictability in climate finance will be vital to supporting developing countries’ green growth. Another key negotiation topic is carbon market rules. With the core framework of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement having achieved breakthrough progress in prior meetings, COP31’s focus turns to full operationalization of carbon market mechanisms—ensuring cross-border trading of emission reduction units generates real, verifiable flows under strict standards such as 'preventing double counting.'

Turkey Finance Chief Says Climate Goals Need $300 Billion

1 day ago

Turkey requires $300 billion in investment to meet its 2053 net-zero target and expand renewable capacity, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated. Public funds are insufficient, requiring multilateral bank financing to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

bloomberg

2026-11-11

Turkey Finance Chief Says Climate Goals Need $300 Billion

Turkey Finance Chief Says Climate Goals Need $300 Billion

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