COP31 climate summit to kick off in Türkiye's Antalya on Monday

The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will begin Monday in Türkiye's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, bringing together heads of state, senior officials, academics, and civil society representatives from around the world. First held in Berlin in 1995, the annual summit provides a platform for countries party to the convention to assess progress in combating climate change, develop common solutions, and make decisions shaping global climate policies.

Türkiye will preside over this year's conference, which runs on Nov. 9-20 and addresses key decisions on sustainable development and climate policies. A 1.1 million-square-meter (11.8 million-square-foot) venue has been prepared in Antalya for COP31, organized under the theme COP of the Future – COP of Implementation, built around three pillars: dialogue, consensus, and action. The conference aims to strengthen trust and cooperation among countries, promote shared responsibility, and translate climate commitments into concrete, measurable actions.

Activities will take place in two designated areas, the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. Blue Zone prepared for high-level meetings Official negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, high-level meetings, and diplomatic talks will be held in the Blue Zone, where access will be controlled under UN accreditation rules. The zone will also host side events, including panels on climate adaptation, clean energy, zero waste, sustainable cities, climate finance, technology, health, and green transformation.

The Blue Zone includes plenary halls, delegation offices, pavilions, a press and media center, and restaurants. A five-petal structure called the "Time Tunnel," covering 10,000 square meters (over 107,600 sq ft) will serve as the Zero Waste Museum. Green Zone to host thematic centers The Green Zone, designed to encourage public participation, will feature thematic centers where government agencies, businesses, academics, civil society organizations, and young people can share climate solutions, technologies, and best practices through exhibitions, concerts, panels, workshops, and interactive activities.

The area includes the Türkiye Pavilion, Science Center, Green Industrialization, Resilient Cities, Energy and Transportation, Culture and Civilization, COPArt, and Start-up Zone facilities. As part of the Zero Waste Movement, which has expanded globally, the COP31 venue will feature a Zero Waste Hub, a Zero Waste Practice and Workshop Center, the Seven Regions, Seven Homes Zero Waste Kitchen, the Zero Waste Museum, and a Zero Waste Temporary Storage and Composting Center.

The Green Zone will also include an "Antalya House" reflecting traditional Yoruk culture and a turtle pavilion built using zero-waste materials. Conference halls named after cultural, historical landmarks Meeting rooms and conference halls across the COP31 venue have been named after landmarks, historical figures, and cultural elements reflecting Anatolia's heritage and Turkish-Islamic civilization. The largest plenary hall in the Blue Zone, with a capacity of 1,794 people, has been named "Anadolu."

It will host state and government representatives and official negotiations. Another plenary hall, with a capacity of 828 people, has been named "Akdeniz," while the zone also includes an "Antalya Hall." One of the two press conference rooms is named after the internationally renowned Sufi scholar and poet Mevlana Rumi, while the other bears the name of Turkish poet and mystic Yunus Emre. Other meeting rooms in the Blue Zone are named Selimiye, Evliya Celebi, Ayder, Gobeklitepe, Topkapi, Kackar, Zeugma, Cappadocia, Bosphorus, Patara, Sumela, Sezai Karakoc, Piri Reis, Harput, Mimar Sinan, Mount Agri, Lake Van, Troy, Fethiye, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Gallipoli, Ahlat, Uludag, Catalhoyuk, and Aspendos.

Side-event venues bear the names Uzungol, Lycia, Assos, Perge, Ahi Evran, Asik Veysel, and Hattusa. The Blue Zone will also feature a Tropical Butterfly Garden, offering visitors an interactive experience focused on nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity. In the Green Zone, the largest hall, with a capacity of 5,000 people, has been named "Gaza Hall." Other halls and meeting rooms are named after prominent historical and cultural figures, including Ibn Sina, Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar, Al-Farabi, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Haci Bektas Veli, Cacabey, Ahmad Yasawi, Afet Inan, Fatma Aliye, Al-Biruni, and Osman Hamdi Bey.

The Green Zone's "Anatolian Garden" will showcase the region's civilizational heritage, from the Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, and Lycians to the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods, emphasizing harmony with nature, hospitality, and sustainable living. Under the "Seven Regions, Seven Cuisines" concept, COP31 will also introduce visitors to Anatolia's culinary heritage, local flavors, and sustainable food culture. Visitors will be able to explore Mediterranean, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Zero Waste, Turkic World, Konya, and Black Sea cuisines. 630 environmentally friendly buses to serve summit A crisis management center has been established in the Green Zone under the coordination of the Antalya Governor's Office.

The center will include representatives from the provincial police and health directorates, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, fire department, Antalya Water and Wastewater Administration, Aksu Municipality, electricity distributor AKEDAS, and natural gas distributor ENERYA. To ensure rapid and effective access to health care, five medical stations will operate across the venue, including three in the Blue Zone and two in the Green Zone.

Seven active ambulances and two reserve ambulances are also planned, while 20 mobile National Medical Rescue Teams, nine in the Blue Zone and 11 in the Green Zone, will strengthen emergency response capacity. A total of 27,957 personnel from police, gendarmerie, and coast guard units will be deployed as part of security measures. For transportation, 630 low-emission, environmentally friendly buses supplied by 25 municipalities will serve conference participants.