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COP31 is three days away as Antalya prepares to host Türkiye’s climate summit
COP31, to be held in Antalya from November 9 to 20 under Türkiye’s hosting, is three days away. The General Directorate of Security has deployed 25,739 personnel, while health measures have been stepped up; Minister Bayraktar announced a target of 175,000 megawatts of installed wind and solar capacity by 2040.
Just three days remain before the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), to be held under Türkiye’s hosting and presidency, under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The world’s largest climate summit, involving 197 countries and the European Union, will take place at the Antalya EXPO Fairground from November 9 to 20. The Leaders’ Summit, attended by world leaders, will be held on November 11-12.
COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum announced the countdown with the message “Only 3 left” on his social media account. The official COP31 account also called on people, saying, “Only 3 days remain to be part of the change.”
A short video shared by Minister Kurum highlights that COP31 begins in three days and features images of preparations in Antalya. Kurum tagged the official COP31 account in his post.
25,739 security personnel deployed
The General Directorate of Security (EGM) announced that it was continuing preparations at the highest level with all units of the organization to ensure that the summit takes place in a peaceful and secure environment. The EGM said every detail had been meticulously planned across a wide area throughout the summit, which will be attended by heads of state and government, ministers, senior delegates and numerous international civil society representatives, from airport reception points and accommodation facilities to critical transport routes and the EXPO main event area and its surroundings.
The statement said, “A total of 25,739 personnel from the strong ranks of our General Directorate of Security’s central and provincial organizations have been actively deployed in the field to safeguard the peace of our citizens and guests, prevent all possible risks and ensure that security operations continue without interruption during this historic event, which directly concerns our country’s prestige and security in the international arena.”
Footage shared by the EGM shows preparations by the security units deployed in Antalya for COP31, security measures carried out by land, air and sea units, and checkpoints at the event venue.
Health measures stepped up
Health measures at the event venue have also been stepped up. Three infirmaries will serve in the Blue Zone, where the Leaders’ Summit will be held, while two will operate in the Green Zone, which will host civil society organizations and side events. Forty healthcare workers will serve at the infirmaries operating under the coordination of Antalya City Hospital, Antalya Training and Research Hospital and Kepez State Hospital; ultrasonography, X-ray and ECG services will be available around the clock. Five golf carts have been converted into mobile ambulances to provide rapid access to patients in the area closed to traffic.
Antalya Provincial Health Director Prof. Dr. Behzat Özkan said three command centers had been established to coordinate health services across the 1.1-million-square-meter site. Özkan said 10 ambulances would stand ready near the venue and 100 ambulances from surrounding provinces would serve outside the site, adding, “While maintaining Antalya’s general health services on the one hand, we will provide effective and uninterrupted healthcare throughout this organization.”
175,000 megawatts of wind and solar capacity by 2040
Energy targets were also clarified ahead of the summit. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced at the “National Energy 2040” launch meeting that Türkiye would reach 175,000 megawatts of installed wind and solar capacity by 2040, with the required investment estimated at approximately $100 billion. Bayraktar said Türkiye’s target to present to the world at COP31 was 35% electrification by 2035, and that total installed capacity was projected to reach 281,000 megawatts by 2040, while the renewable share was expected to rise from 63% to 77%. The target is to reach 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040; the first offshore wind YEKA tender is planned for April next year.
İbrahim Erden, head of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), said they expected investments exceeding $50 billion over the next 14 years to meet the 63,000-megawatt wind target for 2040. Erden said installed wind capacity, currently at 16,000 megawatts, would increase by 47,000 megawatts, stressing that announcing the road map before COP31 would make it easier for the international business community to assess investment opportunities.
Calls for COP31 from industry and finance
The Türkiye Industrial Decarbonization Investment Platform (TIDIP) will also be introduced to the international community as part of COP31. The Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) and the Technology Development Foundation of Türkiye (TTGV) called for stronger climate finance mechanisms in a joint appeal titled “The Twin Transition of Developing Country Industries.” ASO Chairman Seyit Ardıç said, “Let us turn long-term and accessible climate finance into concrete investment opportunities that SMEs can also benefit from,” while TTGV Chairman Değerhan Usluel called for mechanisms to be strengthened “to assume the initial risk, support demonstration projects and share the knowledge gained.” The two institutions will hold a joint event on November 16 at the Türkiye Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
Somalı, chairman of the Electric Mobility Operators Association, said they viewed COP31 as a strategic opportunity to accelerate Türkiye’s transition to electric transportation and showcase its domestic technology capacity to the world. Türkiye and China are also set to discuss cooperation opportunities in the green transition on the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), announced that the bank had already invested 2.5 billion euros in Türkiye this year and expected the figure to exceed 2.7 billion euros and reach a record level by year-end.
A climate technology creathon is also being held for young people and entrepreneurs as part of the summit. Organized under the slogan “Technology for Climate, Solutions for the Future!” by the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), the T3 Enterprise Center and the Zero Waste Foundation, the competition completed its applications on November 2, with the final scheduled for November 17-18. The teams placing in the competition will have the opportunity to take an overseas trip, participate directly in the T3 Enterprise Center Pre-Incubation Program and Take Off İstanbul, and speak at the Zero Waste Forum.
International organizations praise Türkiye
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told Anadolu Agency that she welcomed Türkiye’s hosting of COP31. Saulo said, “Türkiye is doing a wonderful job at COP31, both organizationally and strategically. I hope all countries come together to follow the great idea and vision behind this COP31.”
In the video, Saulo says the WMO is fully aligned with the COP31 Action Agenda, that science must be at the foundation of decision-making processes, and that the “early warnings for all” initiative is a critical part of the climate change adaptation agenda. Saulo also said a high-level event focused on early warning systems would be held during COP31.
Laurence Tubiana, an architect of the Paris Agreement and president of the European Climate Foundation, said Türkiye, as COP31 president, could play an important role in building bridges between parties in climate negotiations. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, meanwhile, announced that he would attend the summit, saying, “Yes, I plan to go to Antalya to attend COP31.” President Erdoğan had invited Pashinyan to the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in New York in September.
Forest fires decline by 68%
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, drawing attention to the pressure climate change is placing on forests, announced that in 2026 they had responded to a total of 6,219 fires, including 2,111 forest fires and 4,108 rural-area fires. Yumaklı said the number of forest fires had declined by 35% and the area of forest burned had fallen by approximately 68% compared with the previous year. He added that the number of forest-fire volunteers had risen from 13,000 in 2021 to 142,000 in 2026, and that forests were being monitored with 28 aircraft, 119 helicopters and 14 Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles.
Türkiye, which has participated in climate negotiations since the 1990s after initially joining as an observer country, is preparing to open a new chapter in climate diplomacy by hosting and presiding over COP31. Final preparations are being completed in Antalya with three days remaining before the summit.
In this video shared by the official COP31 account, the message reads, “The consequences of climate change remind us of one truth: We have no other planet, but we have the power to transform it,” while emphasizing that three days remain to be part of the change.
Videos: General Directorate of Security, Anadolu Agency, @turkiyecop31, @murat_kurum. Photos: Anadolu Agency
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