The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change commenced on Monday in Antalya, Türkiye, as 195 countries convene for two weeks of talks from November 9 to 20, 2026.
Türkiye is the COP31 host country, with its Environment Minister Murat Kurum presiding over the conference.
Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen was appointed by consensus at COP30 to be President of Negotiations.
More than 90,000 individuals are set to participate in the talks in Antalya, from heads of state, negotiators, business leaders, to scientists and civil society representatives.
COP31 organisers have characterised this year’s summit as a “COP of implementation”, focused on making commitments happen as opposed to making sweeping new statements. Simon Stiell, the head of UN Climate Change, addressed the plenary session of COP31, saying, “Progress is not nearly enough or fair enough.”
There are three main tracks: emissions, where countries will make good on their stronger Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement; finance, which involves fulfilling the new collective quantified finance goal agreed to at COP29; and adaptation and resilience for vulnerable countries. The financing track is expected to be the most difficult, with developing countries demanding faster access to finance.
The Presidency’s Action Agenda includes a global electrification goal of “35 by 2035.” The International Energy Agency estimates that electricity could provide 33 percent of the world’s final energy consumption by 2035 (just shy of the goal), up from 23 percent today.
Monday was Food, Agriculture and Health Day, focusing on climate effects on human health against the backdrop of an impending El Niño with extreme weather effects. Negotiators will also discuss fossil fuels language, which producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia will oppose once again.
The United States is not sending a delegation, continuing the Trump administration’s withdrawal from climate diplomacy. Some Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, are attending independently.
