COP31 begins in Antalya, Turkiye, on Monday, November 9, and runs until November 20
Nearly 200 countries will take part in two weeks of talks on climate action, finance and clean energy
A separate World Leaders' Summit is scheduled for November 11 and 12
COP31 opens in Antalya, Turkiye, on Monday, November 9, as nearly 200 countries prepare for two weeks of talks on climate action, finance and clean energy. The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference will run until November 20 and comes as rising temperatures, extreme weather events and wider climate risks increase pressure on governments to act.
Leaders, policymakers, scientists and climate experts are expected at the summit, which Turkiye is hosting. A separate World Leaders' Summit will bring together heads of state and government and is scheduled for November 11 and 12. India Today reported that the main focus will be on speeding up climate action, raising support for vulnerable nations and pushing the shift to cleaner energy.
The meeting also arrives with unresolved issues from the previous summit and fresh scrutiny of whether countries can move from pledges to implementation. Climate finance, emissions cuts and the path away from fossil fuels are expected to shape the Antalya talks.
Why COP Matters
COP stands for Conference of the Parties. It is the annual meeting held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, where countries negotiate collective action on climate change.
The process matters because climate change crosses borders. Rising temperatures, melting glaciers, rising sea levels and extreme weather affect countries in different ways, but their causes need an international response.
The talks also rest on the framework set at COP21 in 2015. The Paris Agreement, reached at that summit, aims to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
COP30 Legacy
Brazil set the recent baseline. COP30 was held in Belem in November 2025 and ended with the adoption of the Belem Package.
That package called for adaptation finance to be tripled by 2035 so developing countries can cope better with climate impacts. Countries also agreed to create a mechanism to support workers and communities during the shift to cleaner energy.
The Brazil summit also launched initiatives to speed up the implementation of national climate plans. But it left a major gap on fossil fuels, as the final agreement did not include a roadmap to move away from them despite calls from more than 80 countries.
Antalya Agenda
COP31 is expected to centre on putting existing commitments into practice rather than adding fresh promises.
Its main priorities include faster movement on clean energy, more climate finance and stronger support for countries preparing for climate impacts. Those issues come on top of unresolved questions over emissions cuts and the transition away from fossil fuels.
Antalya will therefore build on the progress made in Brazil while confronting what was left unsettled there. With climate impacts becoming harder to ignore, the summit will show how far countries are willing to turn commitments into action.
