In Antalya the two-day summit of heads of state and government begins today as part of the 31st UN Climate Conference (COP31). Around a hundred heads of delegation are expected in the so-called Blue Zone of the Expo Center Antalya on 11 and 12 November. Host Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had invited them to the political opening; the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Türkiye’s COP31 presidency are coordinating the programme and contributions.
The aim of the meeting, officially called the World Leaders’ Summit, is to give political momentum to the negotiations that follow. The programme includes national statements, the presentation of joint initiatives and bilateral talks. Key topics include adaptation finance, accelerating the energy transition, and technology transfer to developing and emerging economies. The COP31 presidency has indicated that the focus will be less on setting new targets and more on implementing measures already agreed.
Key points of contention, which are likely to be crucial to the final texts, remain unresolved. These include wording on how to address fossil fuels, as well as the scale and access conditions for international climate finance. The agenda also includes how to turn pledges into robust timetables and accountability mechanisms. Statements by individual governments and newly announced alliances will be released in the coming days and may shape the dynamics of the negotiations.
The of the Federal Government, published on the same day. They show both increased participation in the had announced at the government press conference on 6 November that Germany’s participation would focus on steering the conference more towards concrete implementation and funding pledges. The responsible ministries will announce specific national contributions with their respective dates and amounts, and these will be incorporated into the negotiating delegation’s mandate. Germany regularly stresses the need for predictable funding for adaptation and emissions reduction, as well as transparent criteria for allocating funds.
The World Leaders’ Summit marks the transition to the high-level negotiating phase of COP31, which is due to continue until 20 November. Whether, and to what extent, the summit’s political signals lead to robust agreements will be decided in the working groups’ technical negotiations and during the final week at ministerial level. Negotiators’ benchmark is to measurably narrow the gap between existing pledges and the Paris Agreement’s climate goals, without losing sight of the limits faced by particularly vulnerable countries.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).