COP31

COP31 is the upcoming 31st Conference of the Parties for climate change, scheduled to take place from 9 to 20 November 2026 in Antalya, Turkey.

Conference of the Parties

The Conferences of the Parties (COP) for climate change started in 1995. They are annual international meetings that aim for a joint effort to fight climate change. The participants are mainly the member countries of the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, though other stakeholders take part as observers.

The main focus of the COP meetings has been reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Other recurring topics include adapting to climate change and funding for global collaboration.

One of the most significant COP meetings was COP21, held in Paris in 2015. Its outcome was the world's most significant climate agreement: the Paris Agreement. Nearly every UN member (193 of 195 countries) agreed to work together to reduce emissions, with a goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

An unusual arrangement

COP31 has a split leadership arrangement. Turkey holds the formal COP presidency and hosts the conference, while Australia leads the actual negotiations on behalf of the Pacific region, following a compromise after both countries had separately bid to host.

What to expect

Countries are expected to bring updated national climate plans, known as NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions), covering the period to 2035. Climate finance will remain a major topic, including how to scale up the $300 billion (and broader $1.3 trillion) goals agreed at COP29, and how developing countries access the Loss and Damage Fund. A fossil fuel transition roadmap, promised at COP30 but not finalised there, is also expected to be a central point of discussion, alongside the ongoing rollout of Article 6 carbon market rules agreed at COP29.

Source: The Planet Brief