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Türkiye will host and preside over the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change's 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, and COP31 CEO and Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Fatma Varank said the country will act as a bridge between developed and developing nations.

Varank told Anadolu Agency that the negotiation halls are complete, that Türkiye and Australia are running the process together in a model not previously used in COP history, and that Türkiye aims to turn earlier climate decisions into concrete implementation at the conference.

Preparations and a partnership with Australia

Varank described COP31 as one of the largest events organized under the United Nations and said Antalya has considerable experience with international events, so the ministry does not expect problems in the preparations. The negotiation halls at the conference venue are finished, final arrangements are being reviewed, and negotiation groups will come to Antalya before COP31 starts to begin their work.

Countries hold different views and expectations on fighting climate change, and COP decisions are taken by consensus, so bringing every country to common ground is one of the conference presidency's biggest responsibilities, Varank said. Türkiye had pursued the COP31 presidency alongside Australia for a long time before the two sides reached an agreement last year in Belem, Brazil.

Under that arrangement, Türkiye took on the presidency, hosting and setting of the action agenda, while Australia runs the negotiation process with Türkiye, a model Varank said had not been tried in COP history before. The two countries have worked closely together for about a year and held talks with different negotiation groups.

"We said we would be a bridge. We said we would build a bridge between developed and developing countries, between east and west, south and north," Varank said. "No country had the slightest concern that Türkiye would build this bridge. They were certain of it and supported Türkiye's presidency on that basis. We are on the final stretch now." Türkiye continues working to build consensus among countries in cooperation with the U.N. climate secretariat and Australia.

An implementation COP in Antalya

Türkiye wants COP31 to do more than broker agreement between countries: it wants earlier climate decisions converted into concrete practice. Varank said that is why the conference is described as an "Implementation COP." More than 10 years have passed since the Paris Agreement was adopted, and he said the fight against climate change now has to focus on implementation.

Türkiye presented its action agenda with its targets in June in Bonn, Germany. "There are very good, very large decisions taken previously. We said we want to open a period in which these decisions are finally implemented, and we prepared our action agenda accordingly," Varank said, adding that the targets were released at an unusually early stage and were aimed directly at implementation.

Varank said Türkiye hopes to secure results focused on implementation by building consensus between developed and developing countries. "We will achieve results aimed at implementation, and the COP in Türkiye will go down in history as an implementation COP," Varank said.

BRIDGE finance model and its pilot countries

Access to finance is essential if climate targets are to be put into practice, Varank said, and Türkiye has developed a model called BRIDGE, the Climate Implementation Bridge, designed to bring the right projects together with funding. The model has drawn support from developed and developing countries as well as financial institutions.

"Access to finance is the biggest problem for everyone, but a much bigger one for developing countries," Varank said. "Often their technical capacity is not sufficient, and the right projects and the right finance do not meet. We will bring them together." The first pilot countries under the BRIDGE initiative previously announced by the COP31 presidency are Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

A number of financial institutions have declared support for BRIDGE, and Türkiye held a preparatory meeting on climate finance in Istanbul. A finance day will also be held during COP31, when institutions are expected to announce backing for BRIDGE and other climate projects.

Work on the first five pilot countries has been completed and will be announced at COP31, along with further countries, Varank said, adding that financial institutions will support them and that the projects will mainly come from Türkiye's action agenda. Türkiye will also take its first concrete step toward the 2035 targets in that agenda at COP31.

More than 1 million visitors expected

COP31 involves far more than negotiations, Varank said, with extensive work on the action agenda and logistics. The Blue Zone will hold about 26 negotiation halls, two large plenary halls, nine side event halls and six special event halls, along with country pavilions and offices. The ministry is also placing great importance on the Green Zone, which will mainly be visited by civil society organizations and the public.

Close to 100,000 visitors are expected in the Blue Zone together with national delegations, while 1 million people are forecast to visit the Green Zone. "Planning and scheduling the logistics of an organization of this size is not easy," Varank said.

All ministries and relevant institutions are working together on the preparations, and each ministry will hold international events on different parts of the action agenda. The private sector, financial institutions, local governments, lawmakers and civil society groups are also involved, with representatives assigned to different fields contacting international stakeholders. Work is under way with the business world, the banking sector, young people and local administrations.

Events will range from a leaders' summit to ministerial meetings. "We will discuss the topics in our action agenda from leaders to children. At the end of the second week we hope to turn them into decisions and produce results aimed at implementation. The heart of climate diplomacy will really beat in Antalya," Varank said.

Youth focus and 2035 targets

At least 60 topics, including finance, adaptation, emissions reduction, technology and just transition, are to be negotiated at COP31, and Türkiye wants the six headings of its own action agenda carried into the talks. Youth and education have a special place among them. Türkiye aims to raise awareness of climate change worldwide by 2035, with young people seen as the most important partners because they will be most affected by the consequences.

Türkiye wants people everywhere to understand what limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees would bring and what it would cost if that goal is missed, Varank said. With extreme heat and floods affecting different parts of the world, the effects will be felt more strongly in the coming years, which is why the active participation of young people matters.

Young people will be given the opportunity to present their projects at COP31, and a two-day meeting will be held before the conference with the participation of the Youth Climate Champion. Türkiye's climate envoys will also attend, and the proposals produced will be presented to COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum. "We promised from the start that we would do our utmost to carry the decisions and demands emerging here into the COP and negotiation results, and we will keep that promise," Varank said.

Türkiye's 2035 action agenda targets include electrification of 35%, raising the share of materials used in the circular economy to 15%, halving waste and cutting energy intensity in buildings by 25%. If achieved, Varank said, these steps could reduce the projected increase in emissions for 2035 by 20% to 25%. Türkiye also wants to leave a legacy for future climate conferences by turning decisions into concrete applications and making climate finance easier to reach. "We will be a bridge to the world, between developed and developing countries, in negotiations, finance, just transition and technology transfer," Varank said.

Key takeaways

• Türkiye will host and preside over COP31 in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, with Australia running the negotiation process in a shared model.
• The conference is presented as an "Implementation COP" aimed at turning past climate decisions into concrete action.
• The BRIDGE finance model will be rolled out with pilot countries Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
• Organizers expect close to 100,000 visitors in the Blue Zone and 1 million in the Green Zone.