Türkiye is preparing to host the largest international event of 2026. The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Antalya on 9–20 November, looks set to be more than an ordinary climate conference. The summit, which shapes climate policy, will sit at the centre of the world's diplomatic, economic and media agenda in November.
The COP journey, which began in Berlin in 1995, reached a historic turning point in Paris in 2015. There, world leaders agreed on the goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees. This agreement remains the cornerstone of global climate policy today.
The significance of COP31 stems largely from the fact that climate diplomacy has entered a new phase. Eleven years on from the Paris Agreement, the issue is no longer so much about announcing new targets as about how the targets already announced will be implemented. This is why COP31 in Antalya is intended to be an "implementation COP".
In addition, COP31 will assess how close national climate commitments (NDCs) bring the world to the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, and in effect the political direction of the Paris Agreement's second decade will take shape. With developing countries in particular having complained for years about the inadequacy of climate finance, COP31 will focus on this finance. Another key topic will be the transition away from fossil fuels. At COP31, we will all see whether the transition away from fossil fuels takes concrete shape. Consequently, if real and strong steps can be taken on all these fronts at COP31, it is thought that the summit could take its place in the history of climate negotiations alongside landmark summits such as COP21 Paris or COP28 Dubai.
Organisation is a Key Issue
Türkiye resembles neither the classic Western bloc nor the developing countries within the G77, which aims to develop common positions on issues ranging from climate change to development finance. With its climate-vulnerable position, it serves as a bridge between the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, which is why many observers believe Antalya could offer a negotiating ground capable of softening the disputes between developed and developing countries.
The decisions taken at COP31 will affect not only governments but societies as a whole. From carbon emission targets to renewable energy investment, and from green finance mechanisms to circular economy policies, the framework agreed in Antalya will directly shape the world that future generations will live in. This is why how this summit hosted by Antalya is managed and organised is also an important matter.
Around 100,000 Visitors Expected
The most striking feature of the Antalya summit is the "co-presidency" arrangement between Türkiye and Australia. The official COP31 President will be Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye, while the "President of Negotiations" will be Chris Bowen, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The COP31 President will assume the overall political leadership and organisational role and will be responsible for the COP31 Action Agenda. The President of Negotiations will take on the management of the formal negotiations, the search for consensus, communications relating to the negotiations, and the shaping of the decision texts.
Around 100,000 international visitors are expected in Antalya throughout November, and although an exact figure is very hard to give, between 50 and 100 heads of state or government are projected to attend COP31. The Leaders' Summit will be held on the third and fourth days of the conference, 11–12 November 2026, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Samed Ağırbaş, who also chairs the Zero Waste Foundation, will serve as the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, a role that strengthens the climate action of non-state actors and encourages the implementation of COP outcomes on the ground.
Alongside these key officials, senior officials of the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), chairs of technical bodies, facilitators, contact group co-chairs and hundreds of negotiators will also be at work throughout the summit.
Dozens of Volunteer Programmes and Side Events Planned
As at every summit, COP31 will feature areas with different levels of access for security and protocol reasons. The most important of these will be the Blue Zone, which is also regarded as the official UN area of the COP. This is where country delegations, UN officials, UNFCCC-accredited NGOs, academics, observer organisations and UNFCCC-accredited members of the press will be based. Country pavilions, official meetings and negotiations will also take place in this zone.
The Green Zone, meanwhile, will host public events managed by Türkiye. NGO events, cultural programmes, academic work, corporate presentations, panels and exhibitions will take place here. Technology, innovation, investment, partnerships, NGOs, academics and young people will come together in this space to develop solutions, share knowledge and take joint action.
In addition to all this, applications for the volunteer programme, under the banner "Volunteer for the Climate, Leave a Mark on the Future", are now open. Anyone wishing to contribute to building a sustainable future, gain experience at a large-scale international event and contribute to global climate action and climate diplomacy can apply.
Organisations, for their part, can also apply for a place in the Green Zone to showcase their projects, technologies and initiatives that contribute to climate action at COP31. Startups developing innovative solutions, technologies and initiatives that contribute to climate action can apply to take part in COP31. Organisations deemed eligible will be able to participate in COP31 by holding official COP31 side events to present climate initiatives, research, policy discussions and joint solution proposals during the conference. In addition, organisations wishing to support the COP31 Presidency through strategic collaboration, expert support or in-kind contributions will be able to apply for partnership.
At a time when the world needs multilateral cooperation in every sense, building the capacity to produce concrete, measurable and implementation-focused results is vital. It is precisely in this sense that COP summits represent opportunities not to be missed for our planet and for humanity. Ensuring that existing commitments in the fight against climate change are translated into concrete and trackable progress is a major task facing the Antalya summit, because only to the extent that it achieves this can the summit also become "the COP of the future".
Date: 16 July 2026
