This year's top climate talks host, Türkiye, aims to focus on delivering climate action through clean energy transition, implementing zero-waste strategies, fostering climate-resilient cities, and addressing the gap between commitments and on-the-ground progress, COP31 President Murat Kurum said on Thursday.

Speaking alongside the International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol in Istanbul, Kurum detailed Türkiye's priorities ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Antalya this November.

Kurum, as the minister of environment, urbanization and climate change and COP31 president-designate, already chaired initial preparatory meetings for COP31 in Istanbul last month.

"Geopolitical developments and conflicts in recent years have once again revealed the fragility of the energy supply chain and have made energy security a renewed strategic priority," he said as part of his opening remarks.

Kurum similarly said that we are at "a critical crossroads" in the climate crisis as well, citing that the world is confronted with diverse pressures from forest fires, drought, water stress, biodiversity loss to pressures on food and energy systems.

Providing figures on losses, he suggested that between 2024 and 2025, globally, some 3.7 million square kilometers of forests were lost to fires, while also citing that 35% of wetlands have disappeared since 1970.

Rise in energy demand

At the same time, he noted that energy and electricity demand are increasing, projecting that by 2035, there will be a surge of 40% to 50% in electricity demand.

"So the world is faced with two major realities: On one hand, rapidly increasing energy demand, on the other, the obligation to fight climate change, which concerns us all. Humanity must now establish safer and cleaner energy systems. The crisis we are experiencing today very clearly demonstrates this," he explained.

Turkish authorities have earlier said that this year's high-level climate talks will focus on three main frameworks: dialogue, consensus and action.

Kurum, on Thursday, reiterated this comprehensive approach, which he additionally described as "implementation-oriented."

"We don't view COP31 solely as a platform where new commitments are discussed, but as a process where words turn into actions, trust is built, and tangible progress is made. We call this the implementation-focused COP approach," he said.

"As the COP president, our approach rests on three fundamental principles. Through dialogue, consensus, and turning decisions and actions into increased implementation after this process, we will achieve our goals. We will set up an inclusive platform that strengthens trust through dialogue. We will conduct the process with a dialogue understanding that embraces everyone and leaves no one behind. With consensus, we will enhance the sense of shared responsibility and joint ownership. Through action, we will ensure that decisions are transformed into reliable and measurable practices on the ground," he furthered.

He also mentioned that they will not see energy security and climate goals as alternatives to each other but would rather treat them as "two complementary fundamental elements."

Main priorities

Also, evaluating the main topics related to the energy sector on the COP31 action agenda, Kurum declared that the first priority is the clean energy transition.

Drawing attention to the fact that there are still millions of people worldwide who have no access to electricity, Kurum pointed to the energy transition and said they planned to develop strong cooperation with the International Energy Agency in the fields of renewable energy, food, cooling and heating, and digitalization.

He stated that their second priority is zero waste and methane reduction, adding: "To increase our belief in this goal, we will make the zero waste approach, the project we carry out under the patronage of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, one of the main pillars of the COP31 agenda, with a perspective that includes all sectors."

Moreover, he said that the third priority was to focus on climate-resilient cities, the fourth one being a climate action implementation mechanism and the fifth one, green industrialization, respectively.

"As the COP Presidency, we will operate with an understanding that does not exclude energy security, observes the right to development, concretizes a just transition, and produces results on the ground," he maintained.

"As Türkiye, we will transform COP31 into a new threshold of trust, cooperation, and implementation in global climate diplomacy," he pledged, while also underscoring the intention for close cooperation with IEA on issues of energy transition and circular economy.

Birol, for his part, started by saying that global energy markets are ⁠going through an extremely "critical period" due to developments in the Middle East.

"In particular, the closure of the ​Strait of Hormuz has caused serious disruptions in global ​oil and natural gas markets," he said, just the day after the IEA decided to release 400 million barrels ​of oil from global strategic reserves, the largest-ever, to mitigate the impact of conflict.

However, he said that he wanted to focus only on addressing Türkiye's COP Presidency and talk about climate goals.

He mentioned that Türkiye is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and, echoing Kurum, also emphasized the hope that the COP31 talks in Antalya would take from the broader perspective the zero-waste approach.

"If Türkiye can do something related to this, this can serve as a reference for the future," he added.

Apart from energy transition and renewable energy emphasis, he also said Türkiye should display its "human reflex," and address, for example, topics such as energy vulnerability in Africa.