UN climate change summit puts Türkiye at center of international diplomacy: Communications director

Türkiye’s communications director said Wednesday that world leaders had acknowledged and praised the substantial investment, extensive preparations and considerable efforts that went into organizing COP31, the UN’s annual Climate Change Conference, hosted by Türkiye in the southern city of Antalya. "With COP31, Türkiye has demonstrated to both the world and its region that it is at the center of diplomacy," Burhanettin Duran told a news conference.

Recalling that Türkiye had previously hosted NATO and Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summits, he said the country had once again demonstrated its position at the center of international diplomacy by hosting COP31. Duran highlighted the summit's motto, "Dialogue, Consensus and Action," stressing that dialogue alone was insufficient to address environmental challenges. He said countries needed to reach a consensus and translate their decisions into concrete action.

He identified climate justice and the implementation of commitments as the two key issues at the summit. Duran argued that developed countries, having caused significant environmental damage during their industrialization, bore greater responsibility for addressing climate change. Rather than placing the burden on developing countries, he said, developed nations should share financial resources and technology to support environmental protection and climate action.

He noted that climate justice had been one of the central themes of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's address. He also emphasized the need to ensure that summit commitments were implemented. "President Erdogan stressed that 'We will not just pretend to act. The decisions taken must be implemented. We will continue working on this,'" Duran said. Gaza's environmental destruction also raised Duran said the international community should not overlook the situation in Gaza while discussing climate change.

"President Erdogan used a very critical concept. He said: 'There is a genocide being carried out by the Netanyahu government in Gaza, but they did not stop there. By destroying olive trees, they also committed an environmental genocide there,'" he said. He added that bilateral meetings held by Erdogan had also addressed Türkiye's successful organization of COP31, with visiting leaders expressing their appreciation and thanking the Turkish president.

Erdogan has held 10 bilateral meetings since arriving in Antalya, Duran said, adding that an equally busy diplomatic schedule was expected the following day, with the total number of meetings expected to exceed 20. The president had also delivered two addresses during the summit, he noted. Duran further recalled that previous COP presidencies had jointly supported Türkiye's bid to assume the COP31 presidency, describing that support as significant for the summit's progress. -Around 4,000 journalists covering summit Duran said the Communications Directorate had worked with the UN on media accreditation, with approximately 4,000 journalists from five continents covering the summit.

"We are very pleased that the summit, which runs through Nov. 20, has attracted such strong media interest," he said. He expressed hope that the event, which has brought together a broad range of participants, including academics and civil society organizations, would deliver meaningful outcomes that would also translate into practical action. Duran said the Communications Directorate had undertaken several initiatives alongside its media-related responsibilities.

These included publishing a book on climate diplomacy, preparing a glossary of climate change terminology and producing a publication explaining the objectives of Türkiye's COP31 presidency. "We are carrying out a comprehensive effort by publishing books, bringing these issues to public attention and combating disinformation," he said. -'This summit is larger than NATO and OTS summits' Describing Antalya as an ideal setting for the conference, Duran said the city represented one of the most beautiful meeting points of blue and green.

He also praised Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum for his significant contribution to the preparations, alongside President Erdogan's leadership. "All leaders recognize and appreciate that COP31 has been organized through significant investment and tremendous effort," Duran said. He added that Türkiye was working to provide the best possible conditions for the nearly 4,000 journalists and deliver strong messages to the world from Antalya on climate change.

Duran said he had received positive feedback regarding the arrangements, emphasizing the scale of the preparations and Antalya's capacity to host major international events. "Indeed, we are talking about a summit that is larger than the NATO and OTS summits," he said. He expressed hope that journalists, civil society organizations and volunteers working to combat climate change would be satisfied with both the summit environment and the services provided.