Turkey Races to Ready Antalya as COP31 Climate Summit Nears

With weeks to go, Turkey is racing to ready Antalya for COP31, the United Nations’ flagship climate summit, which will bring world leaders to the Mediterranean resort city from 9 to 20 November 2026.

More than 100,000 visitors from over 190 countries are expected, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced after a cabinet meeting on 7 September, with nearly 120 heads of state and government anticipated, according to Antalya provincial officials.

COP31 Antalya Preparations Accelerate

The 1.1-million-square-metre Antalya EXPO site – officially renamed the “COP31 Area” – is being divided into a Blue Zone for formal negotiations and a Green Zone for civil society groups. Around 160,000 square metres of indoor exhibition space is being built, and 38 kilometres of roads serving the venue and the Belek hotel district have been completed.

Hotel reservations tied to the summit have already opened through the official system, though the hotels designated for heads of state are being kept confidential for security reasons, Antalya’s provincial environment director İsmail Öntaş told the Demirören News Agency.

A Presidency Built on an Unusual Deal

Under the compromise reached between Türkiye and Australia – both had bid to host – Türkiye holds the COP31 presidency and the action agenda, while Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen presides over the formal negotiations. A pre-COP gathering will be hosted by a Pacific nation.

The presidency says it is guided by three principles – dialogue, consensus and action – and wants the summit to shift global climate talks from pledges to implementation. Key negotiations will cover climate finance, including the $300 billion annual goal for developing countries, the Loss and Damage Fund, carbon markets and methane emissions.

Ten Priorities and a $2 Billion Prize

Türkiye’s ten-point “COP31 Action Agenda” spans zero waste, oceans and seas, food security, climate-resilient cities, a climate action implementation bridge, youth and education, green industrialization, clean energy transition and electrification, and resilient health systems – an agenda closely watched by vulnerable nations, including Pakistan, seeking stronger climate finance commitments.

Officials estimate the summit could generate roughly $2 billion in economic activity for the region, and the government plans to keep the site afterward as a permanent venue for fairs and congresses. See also our reporting on the EU Parliament’s COP31 priorities and the COP31 category page.

Background on the summit is available from Wikipedia’s COP31 overview and Anka English.