COP31 memo: Schedule, organization and key issues at the Antalya climate conference

When and where is COP31 taking place? The resort town of Antalya, located in southern Turkey, is set to welcome some 60,000 attendees for the 31 st global climate conference, held from November 9 to 20. A "leaders' summit" bringing together heads of state and government will take place on November 11-12. Unusually, Turkey, the host country, is jointly leading this COP with Australia: Ankara is chairing the COP, while Canberra is responsible for conducting the negotiations.

What is a COP? The climate COP (short for "Conference of the Parties") is the meeting of parties that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is held every year in November or December, rotating through different regions of the world. There are also COPs dedicated to biodiversity, the most recent of which just concluded in Armenia. One hundred ninety-four parties have ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate.

The US ratified it but later withdrew. What is on the official negotiation agenda? Many important issues will be discussed, but the negotiations are expected to be mostly technical, with no major decisions anticipated. The agenda includes the operationalization of the just transition mechanism, which aims to coordinate countries' efforts toward decarbonization; indicators to measure progress on adapting to climate change; and the extension of the mitigation work program.

What are the specific stakes for COP31? Beyond the official agenda, many major topics are expected to be raised and could result either in a declaration in the final decision – approved by all parties – or in voluntary commitments. One such issue is electrification, with the Turkish presidency pushing for a target of raising the share of electricity in final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. The phase-out of coal, oil and gas will also be highlighted by some countries and by civil society, against the backdrop of a major energy crisis.

COP31 could also reaffirm that the 1.5°C target must remain the guiding principle for climate action, even though that threshold will be exceeded in the coming years as extreme weather events become more frequent. The importance of science will also be an issue, at a time when it is increasingly under attack and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is going through one of the deepest crises in its history . Finally, the issue of funding will inevitably be at the heart of the discussions.

Perrine Mouterde Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr ; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.