The 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP31, has officially opened in Antalya, Türkiye, with a strong call for countries to move beyond climate commitments to concrete action.
As Türkiye assumes the one-year presidency of the global climate summit, COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, says the world is at a critical point in the fight against climate change.
He has challenged world leaders to turn negotiations into investments, decisions into results and climate knowledge into action. Kurum was speaking at the opening plenary of COP31, after receiving the presidential gavel from his COP30 counterpart, André Corrêa do Lago.
The stage is set in Antalya, Türkiye, as the global climate community formally begins another round of negotiations on the future of the planet.
With representatives from 196 countries and the European Union in attendance, the message from the new presidency is that the time for climate promises without implementation is running out.
“Let the legacy of Antalya be greater than our words. Let us turn words into results, decisions into investments, and knowledge into action.”
Kurum painted a picture of a world battling multiple and interconnected crises, from geopolitical conflicts and economic uncertainty to food insecurity, technological inequalities and increasingly devastating climate impacts.
He warned that the climate crisis recognises neither national boundaries nor geographical distances.
Drought in one region, he explained, can affect food supplies elsewhere, while flooding can disrupt industrial production thousands of kilometres away.
He described the current moment as ground zero, stressing the urgency of collective responsibility.
“If the world is to share a common future, it must also bear the responsibility for that future together.”
With the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit remaining a guiding ambition, attention now shifts to how countries can translate existing commitments into measurable outcomes.
The new presidency is also proposing a legacy of action, with investments, technology transfer and more resilient cities at the centre of its vision.
As Türkiye takes over the presidency of COP31, the challenge before world leaders is how to bridge the gap between climate commitments and actual delivery.
For developing countries, particularly across Africa, this is also about access to climate finance, technology and the resources needed to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
The next 12 days of negotiations in Antalya will therefore be critical in determining whether COP31 becomes another conference of promises or a turning point for meaningful climate action.
“This story was produced as part of the COP31 Climate Change Media Partnership,
a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network,
Informed Earth and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.”
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Editor: Terverr Tyav
