Türkiye prepares local climate action projects for COP31 Climate Change Conference

The Ankara Climate Transition Forum, held in the runup to next month’s COP31 UN Climate Change Conference, to be hosted in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, kicked off on Thursday in Ankara, the nation's capital. The forum aims to showcase local climate action initiatives for Antalya, in line with the COP31 Presidency’s goal of delivering a conference focused on implementation, with participation from EU representatives, the UN Development Program, municipalities, international financial institutions, and scientists. Halil Hasar, head of climate change at Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, said at the forum’s opening that tackling climate change requires collective action. Stressing the importance of early warning systems and data, Hasar said: “One neighborhood is facing a heat wave, while another is dealing with rain and flooding. We are living in a different era where even normal conditions are changing.” Hasar said 2024 was Türkiye's hottest year on record, while 2025 was its driest. He said long-term precipitation levels have fallen 28%, adding that rainfall of 300 kilograms (661 pounds) per square meter in a single day reflects the consequences of the climate crisis rather than ordinary precipitation. Hasar stressed the importance of local climate action and science-based planning, saying preventive measures could reduce costs. He said Türkiye would showcase pilot projects at the conference in Antalya, adding: “We will try to demonstrate these efforts to everyone through a pilot project in Antalya at COP31.” COP31, the UN Climate Change Conference, is due to be held on Nov. 9-20 in Antalya on the Turkish Riviera, with Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum serving as president. According to the UN, the conference “is where the world comes together to agree on the actions to address the climate crisis, such as limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7F), helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.” The conference will bring together world leaders and negotiators from the member states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to further global progress, with business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous peoples, and civil society “sharing insights and best practices to strengthen global, collective, and inclusive climate action,” the UN added.