A Guide To COP31

Amid a year of exceptionally high temperatures, severe droughts, wildfires and floods, the United Nations’ 31st climate change summit feels more important than ever. Taking place from 9 – 20 November in Antalya, Türkiye, COP31 will see world leaders and negotiators coming together to work towards agreed commitments on global warming, move away from reliance on fossil fuels, and strengthen climate resilience. Yet the conference is facing criticism for moving too slowly – can it really deliver tangible results?

What Is COP31?

COP, which stands for Conference of the Parties, is the world’s biggest annual gathering devoted to tackling climate change. First established in 1995, the meeting is an opportunity for governments to come together to assess progress and negotiate next steps on global warming. 

The 31st edition, which kicked off yesterday, sees representatives from nearly 200 nations heading to the coastal resort of Antalya to discuss climate action. Murat Kurum, Turkey’s head of the COP31 summit, says past conferences have been too slow to make real progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement – where countries agreed to limit the global temperature rise to below 2C and ideally 1.5C. This follows a worrying UN report from September, which predicted the world will likely overshoot the 1.5C target within a few years. 

‘You gather every year, you make decisions, you make commitments and you claim to want to achieve results with regard to combating climate change,’ says Kurum. ‘But if you don’t get any result out of the commitments and these meetings every year, then how meaningful is it? It’s high time to translate words and promises into actions and actual implementation on the ground.’

Unsplash

Where Will COP31 Be Held?

COP31 will take place at the Expo Center in Antalya, Türkiye.

What Have Previous Cop Summits Achieved?

The first COP, held in Berlin in 1995, was largely about establishing trust between nations. Two years later, at COP2 in Kyoto, an inaugural legally binding agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol emerged as the world’s first international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The most historic breakthrough from COP so far has been the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty signed by 196 parties which mapped out a vision for a net zero emissions future. COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, also marked a pivotal moment: nearly 200 nations agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. Momentum continued to gather last year at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, where over 80 parties backed a proposed roadmap to end fossil fuels – but unfortunately, this didn’t become part of the final outcome. 

What Is The Focus This Year?

This COP is being heralded as one of ‘implementation and acceleration’, with talks centred around the fundamental question: how can we keep warming to as close to 1.5C as possible? 

Following on from last year’s summit, plans to phase out fossil fuels will be one of the key topics – with 18 countries having submitted roadmaps to the UN portal. Another objective is to boost clean electrification across the global economy by replacing petrol and diesel vehicles, gas boilers and some industrial processes with electric alternatives. Kurum has announced the ‘35-by-35’ pledge: a target of 35 percent of energy demand being met by electricity by 2035 (up from around 20 percent from today). 

Food security is also on the agenda as the growing El Niño continues to heighten the threat of extreme weather – and, consequently, farming and food supply. The Turquoise Nexus Initiative will be formally launched at COP31, attempting to address this issue by strengthening the links between food systems.

Unsplash

Climate finance will be an important conversation too, with leaders set to explore how developed countries can advance funding for developing countries which are experiencing loss and damage from climate-related disasters. ‘While most countries recognise the need for more climate finance, disagreements remain over where the money should come from and how it should be channeled,’ says Martin Krause, the Director of the Climate Change Division at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). ‘We expect these questions to be central to discussions at COP31.’

Governments will also discuss how communities can adapt to a warmer planet, waste management, and how countries can work together in an increasingly fractured geopolitical landscape. 

The UK Government website has outlined its key priorities for COP31:

1. Speed up the global shift to clean energy and electrification.  
2. Spotlight the need for global action to curb methane emissions and other super-pollutants. 
3. Push for progress to protect the critical ecosystems on which we rely, including forests and oceans. This also includes supporting more sustainable food and agriculture systems, move to a circular economy and responding to the risks that climate change and biodiversity loss pose to our national security.  
4. Find ways to adapt to a changing climate. This includes encouraging more financial investment and improving access to and the quality of finance to help countries prepare for climate change. It also includes pushing for stronger practical action to build resilience.  

You can read more about the UK’s involvement here.