For the first two weeks of November, all eyes will be on Türkiye. Antalya will host the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the most important global summit for the future of our planet, bringing together thousands of delegates and stakeholders, from heads of state to NGOs, academics to business leaders.
Of course, the planet's needs go far beyond simply coming together. As the sands of the climate change hourglass run ever faster, its impact on our daily lives grows. That is precisely why, particularly over the last two COP summits, concepts such as consultation, meetings, negotiation, assessment, intent and targets have begun to give way to practice, mobilisation, transformation, action and, above all, implementation. This shift will continue at COP31, where delivering real results in climate action will take centre stage.
So what will COP31's Action Agenda consist of? The 10 core headings set ahead of the summit will be addressed through three fundamental strategies: implementing climate commitments, building resilience to climate change, and accelerating the low-carbon transition.
The Zero Waste goal is expected to be one of the defining agenda items of this year's summit. Waste is a genuinely critical issue: it is the third-largest source of human-induced methane emissions and is responsible for roughly 30% of the global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution. COP31 will therefore focus on concrete steps that unlock the climate action potential of waste management by mobilising circular economy solutions. Integrating opportunities to reduce methane emissions from waste into updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) looks set to be the most important target in this area.
Moving from Planning to Implementation is Critical
Türkiye's COP31 Presidency has also developed a new initiative, the Climate Implementation Bridge (CIB), to accelerate the translation of countries' climate commitments into concrete action. The CIB action agenda aims to address these challenges by strengthening the links between countries' national climate priorities, investment opportunities and financing partners, making it easier for countries to move their climate plans into the implementation phase.
Another item on COP31's action agenda is the clean energy transition. With the goal of clean, secure and affordable energy for all, this agenda seeks to improve energy access while ensuring energy reliability. Its core elements will include strengthening grid infrastructure, energy storage systems and grid flexibility mechanisms, developing electrification pathways, and supporting energy transition approaches that reflect each country's national circumstances.
Support is Essential for Industrial Transformation
Cities are among the largest sources of human-induced climate change. They generate roughly 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while around 15% of major cities are simultaneously exposed to the risks of flooding and extreme heat. One of COP31's priorities will therefore be to create climate-resilient cities, first and foremost by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings to scale up low-carbon solutions and improve energy efficiency, and by supporting systems and investments that drive the widespread adoption of resilient infrastructure and building standards.
Industrial transformation stands out as another action agenda heading, given that industry accounts for roughly 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Industry is the hardest sector to decarbonise, and its green transition requires highly complex processes. Recognising that many developing countries need support to build the foundations of green industry from the ground up, COP31 places cooperation and the development of workable mechanisms for an inclusive industrial transformation firmly on its agenda.
Food Security and Shock-Resilient Health Systems are Needed
Another agenda item under the heading of building climate resilience will be the development of dynamic and resilient health systems. The extreme heat that gripped Europe just this summer is enough to show how important this agenda is. Indeed, climate change is driving an ever-widening range of health risks. Priorities are therefore expected to include developing health surveillance systems integrated with climate risk assessments within national health planning and governance, and expanding multi-hazard early warning and response systems for climate-sensitive diseases and extreme weather events.
Food security, one of humanity's most fundamental challenges, is also a key item on COP31's action agenda. Under this heading, the summit will seek solutions to the severe food insecurity faced by around 318 million people as a result of climate-related disasters. COP31 will prioritise strengthening the food-water-climate nexus and building climate-resilient agricultural systems.
Protecting the oceans and seas, a crucial line of defence against climate change that absorbs roughly 25% of human-induced carbon dioxide, is another of COP31's priorities. Here, the aim is to scale up and accelerate ocean action through priorities such as integrating the blue economy into national climate strategies, establishing frameworks to strengthen the resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems, and providing support to enhance the climate resilience of coastal communities.
The 3 Major Rio Conventions will be Addressed Holistically
COP31 will also bring to its action agenda an integrated approach to the challenges facing our planet — climate change, desertification and land degradation, and biodiversity loss — which are not separate issues but must be tackled together. Recall that three vital international environmental conventions emerged from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, these conventions were addressed separately for many years.
COP31, by contrast, will take a holistic approach to these conventions under an action agenda item named Rio Synergy. In this context, priority actions will include combating wildfires and restoring ecosystems after fires, protecting carbon sinks, sustainable land management, and making biodiversity an integral part of climate adaptation policies. Establishing mechanisms for stronger coordination among the three Rio Conventions is therefore expected to prove highly practical and enabling.
The final, and equally important, heading in Antalya will be youth and climate change education. With around 1.8 billion young people aged 10–24 worldwide, it is vital for the future to see them not merely as the inheritors of climate risks but as the architects of their solutions. At COP31, the priorities under this agenda will be to strengthen climate literacy, support capacity-building activities aligned with the development of the green workforce, and create dialogue mechanisms that bring relevant stakeholders together.
It is clear that the action agenda headings have been prepared with great care. But whether all of these agendas translate into action, or whether existing action and transformation gather pace, will of course depend on the productivity of the negotiations and the willingness of governments throughout COP31. Perhaps, on the new path it takes after Antalya, the world will look to the future with greater hope…
Date: 8 July 2026
