COP31 in Antalya: What Türkiye's Hosting Role and the Zero Waste Initiative Mean for Climate Diplomacy

Why It Matters

COP31 is set to be held in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026, under a compromise agreed at COP30 in Belém. Türkiye hosts the conference and presides over it, while Australia takes a distinct 'President of Negotiations' role and a pre-COP is planned in the Pacific. For Ankara, the conference is the largest climate-diplomacy platform it has hosted. It is a chance to put the Zero Waste initiative, the 2053 net-zero target and its climate-finance arguments in front of 190-plus parties.

Still being finalized: the precise split of responsibilities between the host presidency and the negotiations role, the final conference dates, and host-country arrangements. Readers should verify these on the official UNFCCC COP31 pages and on the websites of the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye. For method, see our guide on how to verify a claim about Türkiye's foreign policy.

Background

The UN climate conference (Conference of the Parties, or COP) is the supreme body of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Hosting rotates among the five UN regional groups. For COP31 the turn belonged to the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), to which Türkiye belongs for UN electoral purposes. Both Türkiye and Australia sought to host, and decisions on COP venues normally require consensus, so the question stayed open for some time before COP30.

Chronology

The COP30 outcome is often described as a compromise because neither candidate withdrew. Türkiye hosts the venue and the presidency, and Australia leads the negotiating track. Details of how the two roles interact were still being worked out at the time of writing.

What a COP host actually does

• Provides the venue and logistics: a host-country agreement with the UNFCCC secretariat covers security, accreditation, and the 'blue zone' under UN control.
• Supplies the COP President: the President chairs plenaries, runs consultations and steers the parties toward consensus decisions.
• Sets the presidency agenda: thematic priorities and special initiatives are announced alongside, but do not replace, the negotiated agenda.
• Works within a troika: the outgoing, current and incoming presidencies coordinate continuity of the process.

Key Players & Positions

Climate negotiations run through blocs rather than single states. The summaries below reflect each group's publicly stated priorities and should be checked against its own submissions.

• Australia: its government has said it will lead the negotiating process for COP31 and that a pre-COP will be held with Pacific partners, linking the conference to Pacific climate priorities.
• European Union: committed to climate neutrality by 2050, with a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) whose definitive phase begins in 2026. Because the EU is Türkiye's largest export market, CBAM is a practical concern for Turkish industry.
• Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and Pacific states: emphasize a 1.5°C pathway, adaptation and loss-and-damage funding, and have welcomed the Pacific pre-COP element.
• Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC): stress common but differentiated responsibilities and delivery of finance by developed countries.
• African Group: prioritizes adaptation finance and the implementation of the 2024 Baku finance goal, which set at least USD 300 billion a year by 2035 for developing countries and called for scaling toward USD 1.3 trillion from all sources.
• Umbrella Group: a loose coalition of non-EU developed countries, including Australia, whose members hold varied positions on fossil-fuel phase-down.
• United States: has notified its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a development that shapes finance and leadership expectations.

Source Comparison

International and Turkish sources largely agree on the facts of the hosting arrangement. They differ on emphasis and on what the climate record implies.

For further reading from the same publishing network, see Interstate Journal, Region Scope and Borders & Blocs. Our Editorial Principles explain how positions are separated from facts.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• COP: Conference of the Parties, the annual decision-making meeting of UNFCCC states.
• UNFCCC: the 1992 treaty framework underpinning global climate negotiations.
• NDC: Nationally Determined Contribution, each party's emissions pledge under the Paris Agreement.
• Net zero: balancing remaining greenhouse-gas emissions with removals. Türkiye's target year is 2053.
• Annex I / Annex II: UNFCCC lists of industrialized and market-transition parties (Annex I), and of those obliged to provide finance to developing countries (Annex II). Türkiye is in Annex I but not in Annex II.
• CBDR-RC: common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, the principle that states have shared but unequal duties.
• Zero Waste: a national and now UN-recognized initiative aiming to prevent waste, improve resource efficiency and build a circular economy.
• Pre-COP: an informal ministerial meeting held before the COP. For COP31 it is planned in the Pacific.
• CBAM: the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which prices the carbon content of certain imports.

Related guides: About Diplomatic Dossier, Reader FAQ, the Diplomatic Dossier home page, The Counter-Terror Brief for another worked example of Türkiye's UN-based legal reasoning, and Türkiye's Gaza Diplomacy on the Record for its multilateral record.

Perspective Note

Diplomatic Dossier presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal positions alongside the documentary record, and makes this editorial stance transparent to readers. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records, and official statements, so that readers can verify them independently. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources. Written by the Diplomatic Dossier Editorial Team.