Antalya opens COP31 with 600 sessions on a 150-plus-football-field site

The UN COP31 climate conference will be held in Antalya from 9 to 20 November on a site covering about 1.1 million square metres. Guests will have access to a free app with session schedules and navigation, while Türkiye’s presidency aims to secure a global commitment to electrification.

Antalya, Türkiye, is completing preparations for the UN COP31 climate conference, which will take place from 9 to 20 November. Türkiye will hold the presidency, while Australia will lead the negotiation process. Organizers describe the conference as a “COP of implementation”: its main task is to turn climate commitments into concrete and measurable steps.

COP31 President Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s minister of environment, urbanization and climate change, published footage of the “Green Zone”, the part of the venue open to visitors. “The face of Türkiye, open to the world. Here, dialogue turns into consensus and ideas into action,” the minister wrote, inviting citizens to visit the zone.

Flags and the inscription #COP31 at the entrance to the conference venue in Antalya

A 1.1-million-square-metre venue

The “Green Zone” covers 582,000 square metres, while the “Blue Zone”, where negotiations will take place, covers 527,000 square metres; together, they form a venue of about 1.1 million square metres. Visitors will see green energy, a zero-waste system and food-supply operations in action. Thematic centres will focus on climate finance, energy and transport, science and technology, sustainable cities, green industrialization and startups, while concerts, exhibitions and meetings will round out the programme.

Participants will be able to access all event information through the free “COP31 Türkiye Super App”, which includes a calendar of more than 600 sessions, personal schedules, dining points and navigation around the venue. The organizers say COP31 will be the largest open-air venue in Türkiye.

Target: 35% by 2035

Türkiye’s presidency is seeking an international commitment to raise electricity’s share of global final energy consumption from about 22% to 35% by 2035. According to the International Energy Agency and the Ember think tank, the global figure stood at 21.6% at the end of 2024, compared with 21.5% in Türkiye, about 30% in China and 30.6% in Japan. Ember chief analyst Dave Jones called the target ambitious but achievable, while IEA analyst Alex Martinos said annual investment in industry, transport and buildings would have to rise from about $320 billion to $1 trillion to meet it.

Documentary about the Mediterranean

The COP31 presidency also presented the Mediterranean edition of the documentary series “The Heat Is Coming”. The film says the Mediterranean is warming faster than many other regions, while rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns threaten ecosystems and coastal residents.

Turkish operator Turkcell became the conference’s communications-sector partner and will also be the lead partner of COPArt, the official art programme. Antalya visitors will also be introduced to the culture of the Yoruks, the region’s nomadic Turkic tribes: a restored two-storey “Antalya House” displays traditional household items, while visitors will be served gözleme and bazlama. The programme and further details are available on the conference’s official website at cop31.tr.

Photo: Anadolu. Video: TRT Haber, COP31 Türkiye

Antalya opens COP31 with 600 sessions on a 150-plus-football-field site