COP31 begins in Antalya as Türkiye hosts 196 countries for implementation

The 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change opened in Antalya today under Türkiye’s presidency, with the conference running until November 20. Leaders from 102 countries and more than 300 ministers have announced their participation. The summit, which COP31 President Murat Kurum has described as an “implementation COP,” will have its Leaders’ Summit opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday, November 11.

The 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), hosted by Türkiye for the first time, began today with an opening session at the COP31 venue in Antalya. During the conference, which will continue until November 20, 196 parties to the convention and the European Union will discuss their commitments, policies and proposed solutions to the climate crisis over 12 days.

According to data from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, leaders from 102 countries and more than 300 ministers have announced that they will attend the conference. The United Nations, the UN General Assembly, the UN Development Programme, the European Commission, the World Bank, the OECD, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the International Energy Agency will also be represented at leader level in Antalya. Applications for 160 pavilions and 90 delegation offices at the conference venue have been approved.

Türkiye holds the presidency, while negotiations take place in Australia

COP31 is being conducted under a joint model established within the framework of the agreement reached at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, last year. Türkiye is hosting and presiding over the conference, while the official negotiations are being led by Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, appointed COP31 president by a presidential circular, is overseeing the entire Turkish side of the conference process. In the conference’s official presentation, President Erdoğan is identified as the political leader, while Emine Erdoğan is identified as the moral and social leader.

One day before the opening, Kurum held a trilateral meeting with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and Bowen, attended by the delegations. Kurum announced that they held the meeting “ahead of COP31, which we will open tomorrow.”

Participants walking along the main corridor in the COP31 Blue Zone

Kurum: The world should say “something changed in Antalya”

Türkiye designed COP31 around the approach of “The COP of the Future — the Implementation COP.” Based on three elements—dialogue, consensus and action—the approach aims to ensure that decisions left on the table for years produce concrete and measurable results on the ground. In his assessment before the summit, Kurum recalled that decisions taken at previous conferences had not been implemented and said that achieving the 1.5-degree target in the Paris Agreement “honestly looks difficult.”

The COP31 president summarized his goals by saying, “When the whole world leaves Antalya, it should be able to say: ‘Yes, something changed in Antalya.’” Another innovation announced by Kurum is to appear before the press together with all previous COP presidents and issue a joint appeal to the world. Kurum described the step by saying, “We can say that something like this is happening for the first time in COP history.”

Water and food security are also among Türkiye’s priorities. Highlighting the threat drought poses to agricultural production and food security, Kurum said they were working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on water management and stressed that climate change is also a “national security issue.”

In the video Minister Kurum published on the morning of the opening with the note “COP31 begins,” images show the sunrise in Antalya, the silhouette of Expo Tower, flags waving at the summit venue and a reception area bearing the words “Welcome to Türkiye.” The video ends with footage of the press hall featuring the logos of the UN Climate Change and COP31 Türkiye.

Negotiations in the Blue Zone, solutions in the Green Zone

The conference is being held across a total area of 1.1 million square meters at the former EXPO 2016 site. In the 527,414-square-meter Blue Zone, managed under UN authority, heads of state and government, ministers and national delegations are conducting the official negotiations; nearly 100,000 visitors are expected to enter the zone together with the delegations. The Blue Zone’s largest plenary hall, with a capacity of 1,794, has been named “Anadolu,” while the second hall, with a capacity of 828, has been named “Akdeniz.” Press conferences will be held in the Mevlana and Yunus Emre halls.

The publicly accessible Green Zone covers 582,244 square meters and includes the Türkiye Pavilion, the Science Center, Green Industrialization, Resilient Cities, Energy and Transport, Culture and Civilization, COPArt and Start-up Zone structures. The zone’s largest hall, with a capacity of 5,000, has been named the “Gaza Hall.” While 1.5 million people are expected to visit the Green Zone over 12 days, more than 45,000 volunteers from 154 countries have been accredited for the summit.

A total of 27,957 personnel from the police, gendarmerie and coast guard will serve throughout the summit. Transport for participants will use 630 low-emission buses supplied by 25 municipalities. For healthcare services, five medical clinics, seven active ambulances, two reserve ambulances and 20 mobile UMKE teams will be stationed across the two zones.

A sculpture and “Dialogue, Consensus, Action” panels displayed in the COP31 Blue Zone

12-day program: A different theme each day

The first day of COP31 is dedicated to the theme “Food, Agriculture and Health.” High-level panels are being held throughout the day in the Blue Zone as part of Health Day, organized by the Ministry of Health and the COP31 Presidency. The official program scheduled the opening ceremony of the Food, Agriculture and Health Pavilion and the Zero Waste Forum Stage at the Zero Waste Museum for 9:40 a.m. Health is appearing on the COP agenda for the first time as a standalone action area under the title “Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems.”

According to the program, November 10 will be Energy and Transport Day; November 11, Zero Waste Day; November 12, Resilient Cities and the Built Environment Day; November 13, Finance and Trade Day; November 14, Children, Youth, Education and Skills Day; November 15, “A Breath in Antalya” Day; November 16, Industry, Science and Technology Day; November 17, Oceans, Seas, Nature and Land Use–Rio Synergy Day; November 18, Humanitarian and Social Development Day; and November 19, “İmece: Strengthening Implementation” Day. On the final day, November 20, the Blue Zone will host the final negotiations, while the Green Zone will hold Finance and Incentives Day.

Erdoğan to open the Leaders’ Summit on November 11

The Antalya Leaders’ Summit, the most critical part of the conference, will convene in the Blue Zone on November 11–12. According to the UN Climate Change Secretariat’s program, the summit will begin with an opening by President Erdoğan on Wednesday, November 11. Erdoğan invited heads of state and government to Antalya. According to information provided by Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci in September, Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to welcome the leaders, while the pair and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are expected to deliver the opening speeches.

China officially announced that Vice President Han Zheng would attend the summit as President Xi Jinping’s special representative. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also confirmed on November 5 that he planned to come to Antalya.

Erdoğan said in New York in late September, where he was attending the UN General Assembly, that he believed COP31 would be an important turning point in the long journey of the climate struggle, describing the summit as a platform where developing countries could make their voices heard. At a UN climate event, Erdoğan also said, “We must achieve much more in Antalya,” and stressed that it was unrealistic to expect all countries to move forward at the same pace while inequalities in access to financing and technology persisted.

The first day of the Leaders’ Summit will also be Zero Waste Day. Within the framework of the Zero Waste vision, which has become a global movement under Emine Erdoğan’s patronage, two leader-level initiatives will be announced on November 11: the Circularity Knowledge-Sharing Network Initiative and the Global High-Level Dialogue Initiative on Methane Emissions from Waste.

In this video prepared by AA, residents of Solak Village in Antalya, which has been transformed into a Zero Waste Village, describe the changes they have experienced. Mehmet Çom, who runs the village coffeehouse, says they no longer throw anything away; the footage shows the village’s Zero Waste Activity Area, waste-sorting points and a horse sculpture made from waste wood. Minister Kurum invited those coming to Antalya for COP31 not to leave without visiting Solak.

Action Agenda: 10 areas, measurable targets

Türkiye’s COP31 Action Agenda consists of the following areas: Zero Waste, Clean Energy Transition/Electrification, Food Security, Climate-Resilient Cities, the Climate Implementation Bridge, Green Industrialization, Youth and Education, Oceans and Seas, Rio Synergy, and Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems. The presidency aims to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035, reduce the operational energy intensity of buildings by at least 25 percent and raise the use of circular materials in manufacturing by at least 15 percent.

The Antalya Compact, prepared for the transformation of buildings and open to the participation of all countries, identifies six areas of action. Also known as “BRIDGE,” the Climate Implementation Bridge aims to connect priority projects in national climate plans with technical and financial partners. Türkiye will also share with the world in the Green Zone its experience building 455,000 climate-resilient homes in 11 provinces after the February 6 earthquakes.

Cover and photographs: AA. Videos: Murat Kurum, AA

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