Climate Law Takes Centre Stage at COP31 as Governance Day Opens in Antalya

Antalya is hosting the law of climate change today. As COP31 enters its fifth day, lawyers, judges and legal experts are gathering at Antalya Bilim University for Climate Law and Governance Day 2026, a full-day meeting on how international law can turn climate promises into enforceable action — on the same day the conference turns its attention to finance and trade.

A full day of law at COP31

Climate Law and Governance Day, known as CLGD, is the annual meeting of the Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI), a network of lawyers and legal experts working on climate change. This year’s edition is hosted by the Faculty of Law at Antalya Bilim University, with Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Law as co-host of one session. The initiative’s secretariat, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, is based at McGill University and the University of Cambridge.

The day runs from 09:30 to 19:00 Türkiye time on Friday, 13 November 2026, in the university’s Block A classrooms in Çıplaklı, Antalya, and is open to participants in person and online via Zoom. Registration is through Eventbrite. Throughout the day, sessions take up the implementation of the Paris Agreement, national climate targets and action, climate justice, and the legal tools for finance, investment and trade.

The programme: from compliance to reparations

The morning opens with a plenary on climate law and governance collaboration for compliance, with speakers including Asst. Prof. Hale Akdağ, Vice Dean of the university’s Faculty of Law; Prof. Alessandra Lehmen, Co-Chair of CLGI; and Adv. Michael Strauss, General Counsel of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The president of the Antalya Bar Association is also listed in the programme.

A second high-level plenary, “From Ambition to Action”, brings together the general counsels of four major climate finance institutions — the EBRD, the European Investment Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Green Climate Fund — to discuss legal leadership for climate justice and a just transition.

The afternoon is given to parallel sessions: accountability, capital and innovation; legal solutions for climate-displaced communities; attribution science and climate justice; climate literacy for lawyers; large-scale clean energy solutions; climate finance pathways from South Asia; forensic evidence and data for climate accountability; community experiences and carbon policy; and the road from global obligations to reparations. Bar associations and law societies from the United States, England and Wales, Brazil and the international community are among the session hosts, alongside the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The day closes with two high-level plenaries. The first, at 17:00, is a keynote by H.E. Judge Dire Tladi of the International Court of Justice, joining by video, on engaging international law in respect of climate change. The closing plenary, “Climate Law Leadership in Practice”, is chaired by Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger of CLGI and Prof. Yusuf Mehmet Örnek of the university’s Faculty of Law. A half-day Climate Law and Governance Specialisation Course follows on Sunday, 15 November, for UNFCCC delegates, observers and scholars, focused on implementing and complying with the Paris Agreement.

Why the law matters at COP31 now

The meeting comes as international climate law carries new weight. On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice delivered a unanimous advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, finding that states have binding obligations under international law to protect the climate system, to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and to cooperate with one another — and that a state which breaches those obligations can face consequences including reparations. Advisory opinions are not legally binding, but they carry significant weight in international law and in national courts.

That is the backdrop for today’s discussions in Antalya: how the opinion, and the Paris Agreement it interprets, are put into practice in national climate targets, in development-bank lending, in trade rules and in the courtroom.

Also today at COP31: Finance and Trade Day

Friday 13 November is also COP31 Finance and Trade Day, the fifth of the conference’s twelve thematic days. The trade track, organised jointly by the COP31 Presidency of Türkiye and the Turkish Trade Ministry under the title “Trade as an implementation bridge for climate action”, opened at 08:00 with an inaugural address by COP31 President Murat Kurum, followed by a high-level ministerial panel on climate, trade and competitiveness.

Four panel sessions follow through the day: sustainable and low-carbon transitions and resilient value chains; empowering small and medium-sized enterprises for climate-ready trade; trade, finance and investment for climate action; and advancing interoperability and international cooperation on climate and trade. The day closes at 20:00 with remarks by Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu. The COP30 Presidency is also presenting its report “Implementing the Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T” during the afternoon (16:00–18:00) — the plan to mobilise at least $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2035.

Elsewhere on the day’s programme: the UN Office for Sustainable Development is holding a side event on reliable climate data for finance, carbon markets and the Sustainable Development Goals at the Republic of Korea Pavilion; the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance is hosting a session on closing the ocean finance gap at the Ocean Pavilion; and parliamentarians are meeting for a dialogue on carbon markets and climate finance. The full sweep of the conference’s thematic days is set out in Watan News’ guide to the COP31 events calendar.

FAKTA

• Event: Climate Law and Governance Day 2026 (CLGD)
• Date: Friday, 13 November 2026, 09:30–19:00 Türkiye time
• Venue: Antalya Bilim University, Faculty of Law, Block A, Çıplaklı, Antalya — in person and online via Zoom
• Organiser: Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI); host: Antalya Bilim University Faculty of Law
• Keynote: H.E. Judge Dire Tladi, International Court of Justice (by video, as listed in the programme)
• COP31 theme of the day: Finance and Trade (Day 5 of 12 thematic days)

Frequently asked questions

What is Climate Law and Governance Day?

It is the annual meeting of the Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI), a network of lawyers and legal experts working on climate change, held alongside the UN climate conference. The 2026 edition is hosted by the Faculty of Law at Antalya Bilim University on Friday, 13 November 2026, in person and online.

Who is taking part?

Legal counsel from development banks including the EBRD, the European Investment Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Green Climate Fund; bar associations and law societies from the United States, England and Wales, Brazil and the international community; academics from Antalya Bilim University and Akdeniz University; and, as listed in the programme, H.E. Judge Dire Tladi of the International Court of Justice, who is scheduled to deliver the closing keynote by video.

What did the International Court of Justice say about climate change?

On 23 July 2025 the Court delivered a unanimous advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change. It found that states have binding obligations under international law to protect the climate system, to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and to cooperate — and that breaching those obligations can lead to consequences including reparations. Advisory opinions are not legally binding, but they carry significant weight.

Can the public follow the day?

Yes. The programme is open to in-person participation at Antalya Bilim University and to online participation via Zoom. Registration is through Eventbrite.

What else is happening at COP31 today?

Friday 13 November is Finance and Trade Day at COP31. The WTO trade track runs through the day at the Antalya EXPO Center, the COP30 Presidency presents its report on the Baku to Belém Roadmap to mobilise $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance by 2035, and side events cover ocean finance, reliable climate data and carbon markets.

As COP31 moves into its second half, the lawyers’ day in Antalya is a reminder that the conference is not only about pledges and finance — it is also about the law that holds those promises together.