Antalya 2026
Key facts
- Date
- 9–20 November 2026
- Venue
- ANFAŞ Antalya Expo Center, Antalya
- Host
- Republic of Türkiye
- COP President
- Murat Kurum, Minister for the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change
- Chair of the Negotiations
- Chris Bowen, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy
- Participation
- 197 parties, approximately 100,000 people
- Theme
- "From Göbeklitepe to the global net-zero emissions target"
- Approach
- From dialogue to consensus, from consensus to action
Timeline
| Date | Event | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 5–8 October 2026 | Pre-COP: preparatory meeting at ministerial level | Fiji |
| October 2026 | Pacific leaders’ meeting | Tuvalu |
| 9 November 2026 | COP31 opening | Antalya |
| 11–12 November 2026 | World Leaders Summit | Antalya |
| 20 November 2026 | Closing ceremony and outcome text | Antalya |
An unconventional programme. The World Leaders Summit is usually held on the first two days of the COP. At COP31, however, it was moved to the third and fourth days. Holding the pre-summit preparatory meeting in Fiji and the leaders’ meeting in Tuvalu – one of the countries most severely affected by rising sea levels – is also a unique arrangement for this conference: the aim is for decision-makers to witness the impacts of climate change first-hand before travelling to Antalya.
How did the joint hosting arrangement come about?
Türkiye and Australia competed for the COP31 hosting rights for a long time. When neither country withdrew their candidacy at COP30, held in Belém in November 2025, the process reached an impasse. Following a week of negotiations, a compromise based on a division of responsibilities was reached:
- Türkiye is the host. The conference will be held in Antalya; the COP Presidency rests with Türkiye; and the Action Agenda, which brings together the summit’s concrete implementation priorities, will be managed by Türkiye.
- Australia will chair the official negotiations. The person presiding over the negotiation sessions is Australia’s Climate Minister, Chris Bowen.
- The Pacific island states have been placed at the centre of the pre-summit programme.
On the Turkish side, the role of COP Presidency has been assigned to Murat Kurum, Minister for the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, by a presidential circular.
The ten priority themes of COP31
The Action Agenda led by Türkiye has been structured around ten themes. These themes also form the thematic framework for the project and event proposals collected by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) from universities:
- Zero Waste
- Oceans and Seas
- Food Security
- Climate-Resilient Cities
- Climate Implementation Bridge
- Youth and Education
- Green Industrialisation
- Clean Energy Transition
- Rio Synergy
- Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems
You can visit the Agenda page to find out what each heading means and in which areas Galatasaray University is making a contribution.
What policy framework is Türkiye adopting for COP31?
The host country’s own climate policy will be one of the topics under the closest scrutiny at the summit. Türkiye’s current framework is as follows:
2053 net-zero emissions target
In 2021, when it ratified the Paris Agreement, Türkiye announced its target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2053.
Climate Act (2025)
Türkiye’s first Climate Act was passed by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 2 July 2025 and published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2025. The Act regulates the planning tools for mitigation and adaptation activities, as well as the licensing and monitoring regime; it introduces concepts such as ‘just transition’, ‘climate justice’ and ‘voluntary carbon markets’ into legislation for the first time. Two key pillars stand out:
- Emissions Trading System (ETS): The legal framework for establishing a national carbon market in Türkiye.
- Preparations for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Alignment with the European Union’s mechanism for pricing the carbon content of imported goods. Given that a significant proportion of Türkiye’s exports are destined for the EU, this issue goes beyond climate policy to become a direct matter of foreign trade.
Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0)
Türkiye submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution on 9 November 2025 at COP30. The declaration is based on the 2018 base year and aims to limit total emissions to 643 Mt CO² equivalent, whilst projecting a reduction of 466 Mt CO² equivalent compared to the reference scenario for 2035.
Academic note. The statement has also been the subject of criticism from international assessment organisations and civil society: the definition of the reduction in terms of a reference scenario rather than an absolute value, the absence of a timetable for phasing out coal, and the fact that the change in the base year complicates comparisons are the main points of contention. It is the duty of an academic resource page to record this debate.
Which topics will be critical in Antalya?
- The fossil fuel roadmap. This issue, which was omitted from the official text in Belém and referred to the Presidency’s voluntary initiative, will be the most closely watched question at COP31 regarding where it will lead in Antalya.
- Adaptation finance. In Belém, a call was made to triple adaptation finance by 2035; however, as the target date has been postponed and the base year removed from the text, it remains unclear how implementation will be measured.
- The Baku–Belém roadmap. The work, which focuses on increasing climate finance channelled to developing countries to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, forms the backbone of COP31’s finance agenda.
- Just transition mechanism. It is expected that the operational rules for the mechanism, which was agreed to be established in Belém, will be clarified.
- Outcomes of the Action Agenda. In the ten areas led by Türkiye, the presentation of concrete, implementation-focused initiatives that fall outside the scope of the negotiating text.
How to attend?
The COP venue is divided into two zones. The Blue Zone is managed by the United Nations and requires UN accreditation for entry; official negotiations, country pavilions and accredited side events take place here. The Green Zone is managed by the host country, is open to the public, and hosts exhibitions, panels and youth events.
Universities participate in the process as observers under the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisations (RINGO) group; they may submit applications for side events and feature in pavilion programmes. For students, volunteering programmes and Green Zone events are the main channels for participation.
For information on Galatasaray University’s preparatory work and participation channels, please see the Our University page.
