Kurum: Second week at COP31 will be decisive at ministerial level

The first five-day program of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hosted by Antalya, has ended. COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum said the second week would be decisive in terms of shaping joint decisions. Speaking at a press conference where he assessed the first part of the summit, Kurum announced that the Turkish and Australian delegations had held three separate rounds of consultations and that the first assessment document containing the parties' views had been published.

Kurum stated that there are headings in the negotiations that have not yet been resolved and that these issues were carried over to the second week. He noted that with the increase in ministerial-level talks, the aim is to reach more concrete results within the scope of the fight against climate change. Kurum said, "As the Turkish and Australian teams, we held three rounds of consultations," and said that there are differences awaiting resolution and important issues carried over to the second week, that they have published the first assessment documents containing the parties' views, that next week they aim to deliver a strong outcome from Antalya through ministerial-level talks, that their goal is clear and they will achieve it, and that they will turn the promises made into decisions that touch people's lives.

During the first five days of the summit, meetings were held in the fields of food, agriculture, health, energy and transport. At the Electrification Forum, the transition to clean energy and the future of electrification were addressed, while at the COP31 Business World meetings, the role of the private sector in climate investments and financing opportunities were on the agenda.

Kurum stated that financing resources and technological cooperation play a decisive role in the fight against the climate crisis. Noting that building resilient cities, green transformation in industry, international trade and climate finance are among the priority headings, the Minister said that climate-focused transformation offers new investment areas and employment opportunities. Citing Turkey's ongoing reconstruction work in the earthquake region as an example, Kurum said that the construction mobilization of 455,000 housing units demonstrates Turkey's capacity to implement large-scale projects.

In the second week of COP31, alongside the negotiations, the headings of youth, education, science, artificial intelligence, green industry, protection of the seas and biodiversity will come to the fore. Kurum reported that ministerial-level talks will continue with a more intensive schedule. Addressing the international community from Antalya, Kurum said, "Our call from Antalya to the world is clear," and called for building trust, offering science and technology for the common benefit of humanity, bringing financing together with needs and with issues awaiting investment and resolution, and protecting the rights of future generations together.