Türkiye is the "natural center" of the fight against the global climate crisis, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister and COP31 President Murat Kurum said on Thursday, underscoring that the country's approach to the climate conference is "clear" and is that of dialogue, consensus and action.
Speaking alongside Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of U.N. Climate Change, at a press conference in Istanbul, Kurum evaluated the aspirations for the upcoming 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), a high-level global climate summit to be held in Türkiye's coastal city of Antalya.
COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago was also present at the press conference.
Fully known as the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the event is set to take place from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20.
Türkiye, in partnership with Australia, secured a bid to host the summit at the last climate talks in Brazil's Belem.
As a first-time host and current president of the event, Türkiye will also organize a two-day World Leaders' Summit. It will also be responsible for preparing official communications for the COP31 conference, overseeing operational and logistical arrangements, and appointing the U.N. High-Level Climate Champion, among other duties.
Australia, on the other hand, is assigned to "leading the negotiations agenda." Moreover, building on the efforts of the COP30 Brazilian Presidency, Türkiye and Australia will work together, and with Pacific island countries, to strengthen and elevate the action agenda.
Speaking on Thursday, Kurum said they aim to carry out the COP31 process with a results-oriented approach. "We truly want COP31 to be successful," he stressed.
He started his speech by noting that COP meetings "are very critical and valuable," as "we are experiencing the devastating effects of the climate crisis more severely by each passing day."
"As Türkiye and Australia, we will work as one body with an understanding based on consultation and cooperation. We are all aware that the world's expectations from COP31 are high," he said.
"Our responsibility is to read these expectations correctly, to build trust among the parties and to produce results."
"There is something we always say. We do not see COP31 merely as a conference, and no one should see it that way," he maintained.
According to Kurum, Türkiye's approach to COP31 is "clear."
"We will not be a single voice but will engage in dialogue, we will act not with division but with consensus, and we will prefer action, not stagnation, in order to achieve results," he said.
Emphasizing the understanding of responsibility that draws from the common memory of civilizations and reminds humanity of its ancient relationship with nature, the minister said they are approaching the talks with the idea and understanding that "they would hear, make heard and encourage everyone's voice."
Moreover, he described that climate change is no longer just an environmental crisis but instead "an existential issue," which he said is affecting every aspect of human life, from trade and transportation to industry, food, energy and education.
At the same time, he suggested they would "respect countries' development priorities," while also pointing to the issue of financing, which is "of great importance in terms of advancing implementation."
"Again, our local governments, our private sector, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations must continue to be the main actors of this process," he further said.
Similarly, he underscored the significance of the Zero Waste Movement carried out under the auspices of first lady Emine Erdoğan. The initiative "has shown the entire world that climate action does not have to remain at the level of rhetoric, but can be carried into a results-oriented transformation framework," according to Kurum.
Emphasizing that as the COP31 presidency, they are determined to rebuild trust in multilateralism with "a strong vision focused on producing results," the minister also drew attention to the nature and standing "with humanity."
"At a time when climate change is sweeping across the entire world, Türkiye stands with humanity," he proclaimed.
"The world is our common home, and we have nowhere else to go, no other home, no other shelter. With this awareness, we say that Türkiye is the natural center of the struggle to be waged against the global climate crisis," he said.
Also expressing that Türkiye will be "a bridge" bringing together the north and the south, the east and the west, developed economies and developing societies, Kurum went on to say that "Türkiye is a country that has assumed the leadership of global climate justice, has proven and earned this claim by standing on the right side of humanity at all critical moments in history."
"The future will take shape here, in Anatolia. A road map for a livable future for all humanity will be presented from here," he added.
"We cannot stop, because those beautiful people on the Pacific islands that face the risk of being submerged are waiting for us."
Stiell, for his part, said that one thing "is clear," as he suggested that COP31 in Antalya will take place in extraordinary times, the times he described as "a new world disorder."
"This is a period of instability and insecurity. Of strong arms and trade wars. The very concept of international cooperation is under attack. These challenges are real and serious," he said.
"But climate action can deliver stability in an unstable world."
"In the face of the current chaos, we can, and must, drive forward a new era of international climate cooperation," he urged, referring to previous action and decisions and suggesting that "nations can deliver change on a major scale when they stand together."
Stiell, in particular, addressed the investments in renewable energy. He cited that in the decade since the Paris Agreement, "clean energy investment is up tenfold."
He said that in 2025, despite all the economic uncertainty and political headwinds, the global transition kept surging forward as the clean energy investment "kept growing strongly, and was more than double that of fossil fuels."
"Renewables overtook coal as the world's top electricity source," he added.
"This is an era to speed up and scale up," he also said.
"Climate action is indisputably in every nation's self-interest."
