The 31st Conference of the Parties, COP31, which is expected to play an important role in shaping global climate policy under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will be held in Antalya from 9 to 20 November 2026 under Türkiye's presidency. The world's attention will turn to Türkiye.
Sustainability must be positioned strategically. Why? Because in a world undergoing profound transformation, sustainability is one of the most important forces at work. Those who anticipate long-term change and remain committed to it will undoubtedly be the true winners. COP summits have an important role in determining the direction of our planet in this context.
As the importance of interpreting this challenging period through a sustainability strategy becomes clear, COP31 offers Türkiye a major opportunity to accelerate its green transition and present that transformation to the world.
In their early years, COPs focused largely on climate negotiations and setting commitments. In recent years, they have come to be judged not only by their decisions, but also by how inclusive and trust-based the process is, and by the institutional and political legacy left in host countries after the summit. Host countries are seen not only as organisers, but as essential actors in preserving the credibility, continuity and legitimacy of global climate and sustainability governance.
COP31 could therefore create an opportunity for Türkiye to reposition itself strategically in climate diplomacy, industrial transformation and regional leadership.
Türkiye Can Play an Active Role in Climate Finance
COPs will, of course, continue to address the world's largest climate-policy challenges. Strengthening and implementing financing mechanisms to support developing countries' mitigation and adaptation efforts will be one of the most important topics.
Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and COP31 President Murat Kurum has already announced that Türkiye will play an active role during COP31 in directing climate finance to developing countries and those most severely affected by the climate crisis.
The agenda will include adaptation strategies and infrastructure projects to address drought, flooding, extreme weather and other effects of climate change, together with their financing. It will also address effective operation of loss-and-damage mechanisms, particularly for countries that suffer the greatest climate impacts but bear the least historical responsibility.
A just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy that leaves no one behind will remain perhaps the summit's most important topic. Kurum has also emphasised that the world must transition away from fossil fuels.
COP31 Offers Türkiye a Genuine Turning Point
Türkiye's COP31 Presidency will be particularly sensitive because of current global geopolitical and economic conditions. The country has set a net-zero target for 2053 and begun taking steps in that direction. It is also starting the transformation required in sectors covered by alignment with the European Green Deal.
Türkiye is positioning COP31 as an implementation-focused, bridge-building platform for climate action. There is every reason for it to redefine its role in the international climate arena and create a genuine turning point.
Preparations for the summit are continuing at full pace. Targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sectoral transition road maps are being detailed, while institutional coordination among public authorities, local governments, universities and the private sector is being strengthened.
Projects in the circular economy, waste management and resource efficiency appear likely to become some of the most tangible implementation methods Türkiye plans to present at COP31.
As part of its diplomatic preparations, Türkiye is intensifying contacts with different regional blocs and country groups to build common ground around shared priorities. Broad-based awareness and education campaigns are also being launched to extend climate action throughout society.
The summit venues are intended to be designed in accordance with sustainability principles, with a minimised carbon footprint and environmentally responsible practices applied throughout the organisation.
Public administration in Türkiye has major responsibilities in meeting these objectives. The most important include the climate law, an updated nationally determined contribution for emissions reduction, definition of sectoral responsibilities under climate policy and establishment of an emissions trading system.
Companies will focus on moving to green energy, investing in energy efficiency, adopting low-carbon production technologies - particularly in the highest-emitting sectors - and improving transparency in corporate sustainability reporting. One of COP31's most strategic dimensions for Türkiye will concern the financial sector.
Transforming capital markets, aligning carbon risk with credit risk in banking, directing finance towards renewable-energy projects and scaling green finance through instruments such as climate funds and green bonds will form the sector's main agenda.
Türkiye Has a Major Opportunity to Advance Both Transformation and Resilience
Hosting COP31 will offer Türkiye an opportunity to assume a more visible role in international climate policy. It is also expected to help bring challenges affecting the Mediterranean region, such as drought and water management, onto the global agenda. Extreme heat, water scarcity, drought and wildfires are becoming more frequent across the region.
In a Mediterranean city such as Antalya, climate adaptation, water management and resilient cities are therefore likely to receive greater attention.
Türkiye also has the opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to discuss transformation and resilience within a single framework. Its geography is experiencing a transformation agenda in energy, industry and investment at the same time as a resilience agenda in disaster risk, water management, agriculture and urbanisation.
The summit will also provide important momentum for Türkiye to raise its own climate ambitions, accelerate renewable-energy investment and promote the transition to a green economy. It could open new avenues for access to the technology and finance needed to combat climate change and provide NGOs with an important platform to take the climate agenda to wider audiences and influence policymaking.
As COPs increasingly focus on accelerating implementation, raising the visibility of good practices and bringing different actors together within one framework, COP31 in Antalya is likely to become a forum for intensive debate on how to connect ambition with implementation.
Türkiye's bridge-building role at the summit could also demonstrate a diplomatic capacity to make these connections visible and highlight the points of balance that enable progress.
20 May 2026
