The 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), the world's most important event in the fight against climate change, which Türkiye is hosting for the first time, has begun at the Antalya COP31 Area.
COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, the outgoing president, handed over the presidency to COP31 President Murat Kurum, and Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency was announced to the world.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of COP31, Minister Kurum drew attention to the fact that the world is changing rapidly and facing multiple challenges simultaneously, noting that wars and geopolitical tensions are ongoing, while trade routes, energy corridors and supply chains are being reshaped.
Minister Kurum stated that economic uncertainties, debt burdens and the high cost of living are affecting the daily lives of millions of people around the world, that hundreds of millions are struggling to access food, and that technology and artificial intelligence are advancing at a dizzying pace, while significant disparities in access to capital, knowledge and technology persist.
Minister Kurum stated that, on top of all this, the world would become hotter, more fragile and more vulnerable to disasters, explaining that different parts of the world now share the same climate calendar, that the effects of a drought beginning in one place are felt at dinner tables elsewhere, and that a river overflowing in one region alters the production schedules of factories thousands of kilometres away.
“Declining water availability in one country has consequences that extend to the economies, migration patterns and security of other societies. Extreme heat is putting cities, agriculture and human health under strain simultaneously. “The world is sending us a very clear message: we are at a tipping point,” Minister Kurum said and continued:
“That is why, in today’s world, words are no longer enough.” We must act with this awareness. Because climate policy is also development policy. It is food policy. It is energy policy. It is urban policy. Above all, it is a policy aimed at safeguarding humanity’s future. That is precisely why we are in Antalya. We are here to develop solutions that reinforce one another in an era when crises compound one another. Our geographies may differ. Our circumstances, resources and priorities may differ. Yet the world is increasingly sharing a common climate calendar. A shared calendar brings shared responsibility. That is the message from Antalya. To expand dialogue at a time of growing divisions, to rebuild trust at a time when trust is being tested, to mobilise resources at a time of growing needs, and to close the gap between the commitments made and people’s lives. We want to make COP31 an Implementation COP for this very purpose.”
“Let us come together in Antalya to forge a historic partnership”
Minister Kurum stated that, for centuries, these lands have been a crossroads where routes converged, ideas met, and trade and culture interacted.
Emphasising that they aim to extend this long-established ability into a new realm by bringing together humanity’s needs with the resources to meet them, Minister Kurum said, “Because there are invisible distances in the world. There is a distance between those who have access to finance and those who do not. There is a distance between those who possess technology and those who need it. There is a distance between countries with strong resilience capacities and vulnerable societies. The great task of climate diplomacy is to reduce these distances.”
Minister Kurum said, “Türkiye has been a bridge throughout history. Now, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye is ready to assume responsibility for bringing together the expectations of the North and the South, of developed and developing countries, on common ground. Together with Australia, Türkiye is ready to listen to the voice of the Pacific and find solutions to the problems faced by vulnerable countries.”
Minister Kurum explained that delay is one of the costliest consequences of climate action, warning that an investment in resilience postponed today could turn into the cost of a disaster tomorrow.
Minister Kurum stated that adaptation finance that fails to reach those in need today could exacerbate tomorrow’s humanitarian crisis, and went on to say,
“That is why we must factor the costs of the future into the decisions we make today. The 1.5°C target continues to guide us. We will speak openly about the facts established by science. We will place the voices of the most vulnerable countries and communities at the heart of our agenda. The decisions we make in Antalya will truly begin to take on a life of their own once they leave these halls. From here, I call on all countries, peoples and young people: let us come together in Antalya to forge a historic partnership. Let us turn words into results. Let us turn decisions into investments. Let us put knowledge into action. A decision must live on in a city’s infrastructure. It must live on in a farmer’s soil. It must live on in a factory’s production line. It must be reflected in improvements to a family’s energy bill. Because the true value of a decision emerges when it touches people’s lives.''
''We value the Zero Waste approach''
Minister Kurum recalled that the COP31 Presidency’s approach is centred on three concepts: dialogue, consensus and action. He stated that the aim is first to ensure that parties listen to one another, then to broaden common ground, and finally to translate shared will into action on the ground.
Minister Kurum stated that the world has knowledge, technology, capital and human resources, but that the real issue is ensuring that these reach the right place and the right people at the right time. He added, ''This is why we value the Zero Waste approach. The Zero Waste Movement, spearheaded by First Lady Emine Erdoğan, makes protecting resources, reducing waste and increasing efficiency an integral part of daily life. We see our children and young people as the strongest drivers of this transformation.''
Minister Kurum noted that a habit acquired today becomes part of tomorrow’s culture, adding that they are applying the same approach to the energy transition, and said:
''With our 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, we have set the target of increasing the share of electricity in final energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035. Renewable energy, robust grids, storage capacity, energy efficiency, clean transport and green industry are complementary components of this transformation. We want to see the outcomes of climate negotiations reflected in people’s daily lives and in new employment opportunities. All of this requires a robust financing architecture. However, alongside financing, we need another foundation: trust. Because trust, too, is a form of climate infrastructure. A country seeing its commitments honoured, accessing the resources it needs, receiving the promised financing on time, and having confidence that the decisions taken will be implemented... This is the invisible infrastructure of global cooperation.''
Minister Kurum stated that an agreement had been reached in Baku on a target of at least USD 300 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035. He noted that a call had been made to increase public and private finance to at least USD 1.3 trillion annually, adding that the time had now come for commitments to turn into capital, capital into investment, and investment into results.
Minister Kurum stated that the global distribution of needs and that of capital, technology, knowledge and expertise presented two very different pictures. He explained that their aim was to bring these two together by connecting projects seeking finance with investors, countries in need of technology with those offering solutions, and local needs with global capabilities.
Minister Kurum explained that this was the purpose of the Climate Implementation Bridge, noting that they would bring resources where they are needed and responsibility where resources are available.
''If the world is to share a common future, it will also share responsibility for that future''
Minister Kurum stressed that they wanted to leave behind in Antalya not merely a list of decisions, but a culture of work in which countries listen to one another, institutions establish mutual trust, scientists share their knowledge, entrepreneurs develop solutions, companies assume responsibility and financial institutions mobilise their resources.
Noting that Brazil had expressed the spirit of mutirão in Belém, Minister Kurum added, ''In our culture, this has a strong counterpart that has existed for centuries: imece - the tradition of collective effort and mutual assistance. İmece is about everyone doing their part when one person alone cannot manage. İmece is as much about sharing hope as it is about sharing the burden. This is exactly what the world needs today.''
Minister Kurum stated that the knowledge of every country, the experience of every society, the energy of every generation and the capacity of every institution are needed. He said that, years from now, when Antalya is remembered, he wanted the focus to be on the initiatives launched there rather than the words spoken: which investments had been mobilised, which technologies had crossed borders, which cities had become more resilient, and which children had gained greater confidence in the future.
''May Antalya’s legacy be greater than our words. An Antalya that reduces invisible distances, brings needs and resources together, replaces delay with action, and makes climate action part of people’s lives...'' Minister Kurum said, adding:
''Let us work together in the spirit of imece to pave the way from dialogue to consensus, from consensus to action, from action to implementation, and from implementation to people’s lives. Because the strongest message we can send here is this: if the world is to share a common future, it will also share responsibility for that future. I would like to express my gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan for their strong support for this process. I also wish to express my sincere thanks, above all, to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as to Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, the UNFCCC Secretariat, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and the Australian Government, my dear friend Chris Bowen, our teams, the people of Antalya and our volunteers.''