Turkey wants to focus COP31 in Antalya on climate investment
Turkey plans to make financing climate projects and the practical implementation of commitments the central themes of its presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference COP31, which will take place in Antalya. Turkey’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and COP31 President Murat Kurum said the conference’s effectiveness would be assessed not only by the decisions adopted, but also by its ability to turn them into projects, attract financing and achieve tangible results for people.
From agreements to implementation
As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, Turkey has identified “dialogue, consensus and action” as the three main pillars of its presidency. According to Kurum, climate change is no longer a separate environmental issue, as it is linked to energy, industry, cities, trade, water resources and development.
Ankara is holding consultations with the UN system, governments, financial institutions, cities and the private sector to identify barriers to implementing climate solutions. These discussions helped shape an action agenda covering clean energy, electricity, cities, industry, youth and food.
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Financing for developing countries
Kurum called climate finance one of Turkey’s top priorities. He noted that it is not enough merely to announce funding amounts: finances must reach the countries and projects that need them at the right time. The minister recalled delays in fulfilling the previous promise to provide developing countries with $100 billion annually.
At COP29 in Baku, participants agreed to raise the financing target for such countries to at least $300 billion per year by 2035, as well as to work toward increasing total climate finance flows from public and private sources to $1.3 trillion annually.
Turkey intends to create mechanisms that will turn climate-related needs into investment-attractive projects, including in cities, the water sector and infrastructure. Among the targets for 2035, Kurum named increasing electricity’s share of global energy consumption to 35%, reducing waste-related resource consumption by 25%, and increasing the share of secondary and recycled materials in industry to 15%.
