The 31st UN climate conference, known as COP31, will take place in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026, at the Antalya Expo Center. It brings together nearly 200 countries to discuss how to meet global climate goals. The summit is organized under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Who leads the talks
The arrangement is unusual. Turkey hosts the summit and holds the COP31 presidency, while Australia leads the formal negotiations. Turkey and Australia both bid to host the conference before reaching a compromise at COP30 in Brazil, according to a report on the hosting deal. Australia’s climate minister, Chris Bowen, is expected to preside over the negotiations.
COP31 will also be Turkey’s first time hosting a UN climate summit. The country ratified the Paris Agreement only in late 2021, and analysts have been sharply critical of its climate pledges, according to the same report.
What the summit is expected to focus on
The conference’s presidencies have called for “transformative and ambitious outcomes” that increase ambition and implementation of the global response to climate change, according to the official event page. The presidencies say they are working in partnership, under the Türkiye-Australia partnership arrangement, ahead of the talks.
Previews of the summit point to climate finance goals and updated national climate plans, known as NDCs, as major topics, according to a COP31 guide.
Global context
Heatmap News has reported that Brazil, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by roughly two-thirds below their all-time high by 2035.
What to watch
- Whether countries bring stronger national climate plans to Antalya.
- Progress on climate finance for developing countries.
- How Australia and Turkey manage a shared leadership arrangement during the talks.