COP 31 in Antalya: What Are the Key Issues on the Agenda?

The Climate Crisis affects almost every aspect of our lives. It threatens human health, puts food security at risk and poses growing challenges for societies around the world. This is reflected in the extensive agenda of the UN Climate Conference COP 31, taking place this year in Antalya, Türkiye. But which issues will take centre stage? What will countries negotiate, and what concrete measures are needed to tackle the Climate Crisis and address its impacts?

One Conference, Two Presidencies

One of the special features of this year’s COP is that Türkiye is not hosting the conference alone. The COP presidency is shared between Türkiye and Australia. Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, will lead the summit on behalf of Türkiye. Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, will play a central role in steering the negotiations.

According to the official COP 31 website, the partnership “aim of this model is to create a more inclusive and results-oriented negotiating environment by bridging the increasingly deepening divides between developed and developing countries.”

Cutting Emissions and Moving Away from Fossil Fuels

The agenda includes several familiar issues that have also been central to previous climate conferences. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and agreeing on new climate targets that countries are expected to commit to.

The latest UN Emissions Gap Report highlights just how urgently further action is needed. It warns that global temperatures could rise by 2.8°C by the end of the century if countries fail to adopt and implement sufficiently ambitious measures. Scientists are already warning that the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels may no longer be within reach.

Moving away from fossil fuels will also play a major role in the negotiations at COP 31. Just three years ago, at the UN Climate Conference in Dubai (COP 28), countries agreed to work together towards a transition away from fossil fuels as part of a just transition. However, negotiations made no progress at the last climate conference (COP 0). In response, a coalition of countries willing to take the lead emerged, with the aim of developing roadmaps for a successful phase-out. At COP 31, there is hope that negotiations will finally establish a concrete global roadmap for moving away from fossil fuels.

Another key issue proposed by the COP presidencies is electrification. The goal is to move different sectors – including buildings, industry, transport and agriculture – away from fossil fuel combustion. One example is replacing combustion engines with electric vehicles in private transport. Crucially, this shift must be powered by renewable energy. Rising electricity demand must not lead to the expansion of fossil fuel power plants or extend their operating lives.

Unfortunately, new fossil fuel reserves are still being explored and developed around the world, particularly for oil and gas. This is happening even in regions of exceptional ecological and cultural importance, including the Congo Basin, coastal areas and the Amazon. The Fossil Free Zones initiative is working to change this. It calls for fossil fuels to remain in the ground to protect ecosystems, communities and the global climate.

Climate Adaptation and Climate Finance

Beyond reducing emissions, COP 31 will focus on how societies can better prepare for the impacts of the Climate Crisis – both those already being felt and those expected in the future. Adapting to these impacts is one of the key issues on the negotiating agenda, alongside climate finance for developing countries and a just transition for workers and communities.

Developing countries, in particular, are calling for more financial support to help them cope with the consequences of the Climate Crisis. Although its impacts are being felt around the world, countries have vastly different resources and capacities to protect themselves and respond to these challenges.

COP 31 is also expected to see replenishment efforts for several major climate funds. These include the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The latter is intended to provide financial support to regions devastated or flooded by extreme weather events, for example.

From Negotiations to Action: The Climate Action Agenda

This year, a particular focus will be on putting climate mitigation and adaptation measures into practice. It is not just about agreeing on new targets, but also about finding ways for countries and other stakeholders to turn commitments into action.

This is where the Climate Action Agenda comes in. It is a separate but complementary process within COP 31. Its aim is to bring together businesses, states, cities and civil society to develop solutions and advance concrete climate action.

The impacts of the Climate Crisis are being felt across many different areas of life. Heatwaves, for example, pose a serious threat to human health. The summer heatwaves of 2026 alone claimed 50,000 lives in Europe. Yet Europe is currently less severely affected by the consequences of the Climate Crisis than many other parts of the world. Extreme droughts and prolonged rainfall leading to floods also threaten food security for billions of people.

Other important areas of climate action include reducing waste and accelerating the global energy transition.

COP 31’s Ten Priorities

The COP 31 Action Agenda outlines ten priorities that the conference aims to advance:

1. Zero Waste
2. Oceans and Seas
3. Food Safety
4. Climate-Resilient Cities
5. Climate Action Implementation Mechanism
6. Youth and Education
7. Green Industrialisation
8. Clean Energy Transition
9. Rio Synergies
10. Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems

Moving away from fossil fuels, electrification and climate finance are also important issues that will be discussed at the UN Climate Conference.

The broad range of topics at COP 31 highlights just how many areas of our lives are affected by the Climate Crisis. From food security and health to education and the energy transition, the challenge is to advance climate action and adaptation across different sectors of society and the economy.

The UN Climate Conference is a reminder that the Climate Crisis cannot be solved in just two weeks. Each conference builds on the outcomes of previous ones. Industry, civil society and governments must work together to develop solutions and, crucially, put them into practice.

Want to find out more about COP 31? Follow the Plant-for-the-Planet delegation on Instagram or follow our work at COP here.