COP31 opens in three days; Türkiye backs renewables, Pashinyan plans to attend

The UN COP31 climate conference will open in Antalya in three days, where Türkiye will present a plan to raise wind and solar generation capacity to 175,000 MW by 2040 through investments of around $100 billion. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he plans to attend the leaders’ summit.

Three days remain before the opening of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), which will take place in Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20. Türkiye, hosting the planet’s main climate forum for the first time, is entering the final stretch with an ambitious energy program and a growing list of high-level guests.

COP31 President and Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum continued the countdown on Friday. He posted a short video on X with the brief caption “Son 3” — “The final 3.”

In the 13-second clip, the Turkish flag waves against an orange sunset sky, while the Expo Tower glows behind it as a symbol of the summit venue at the EXPO exhibition park. The words “SON 3 GÜN” (“The final 3 days”) and the COP31 tulip emblem appear on the illuminated tower.

175,000 megawatts from wind and solar

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar outlined the main figures Ankara is bringing to summit participants in Istanbul on Thursday while presenting the “National Energy 2040” strategy. By 2040, the capacity of wind and solar power plants, including offshore wind farms, is expected to reach 175,000 MW, with investments estimated at around $100 billion. The current capacity is about 44,000–45,000 MW. Ahead of COP29, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan set a goal of quadrupling it, and that target remains in place.

Total installed power-generation capacity will rise from 123,000 MW in 2025 to 281,000 MW in 2040, while the share of renewable sources will increase from 63% to 77%. This will require around $190 billion. Electricity demand is planned to reach 680 TWh: electric vehicle consumption will rise from 3.5 to 90 TWh, while data centers will require an additional 55 TWh. At COP31, Türkiye will propose a target of raising the electrification rate to 35% by 2035.

Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar presents the “National Energy 2040” strategy

Nuclear power, gas and offshore wind

Nuclear energy has a separate place in the strategy. In addition to the 4,800 MW Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is being built by Rosatom in Mersin province, at least another 5,000 MW is expected to be added by 2040. By 2050, nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 20,000 MW, of which at least 5,000 MW will come from small modular reactors. “We are not saying there will be no oil and gas. We are saying that policy must be more realistic,” Bayraktar emphasized. By 2040, Türkiye expects domestic production at home and abroad to fully cover its gas consumption.

İbrahim Erden, president of the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), estimated investment in wind power alone at more than $50 billion over 14 years. Its capacity is expected to grow from around 16,000 MW to 63,000 MW, including 6,000 MW from offshore wind farms. Murat Durak, head of the Offshore Wind Energy Association (DÜRED), said four prospective areas had been selected: Saros Bay, off Edremit, and off the islands of Bozcaada and Gökçeada. The first tender is scheduled for April 2027.

Pashinyan plans to travel to Antalya

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will also attend the leaders’ summit, which will take place on Nov. 11–12. “Yes, I have a plan to travel to Antalya to participate in COP31,” he replied to a journalist’s question on Nov. 5. Erdoğan invited the Armenian prime minister during their meeting in New York in September. Pashinyan last visited Türkiye on a working trip on June 20, 2025.

On Nov. 11, Erdoğan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UN Secretary-General António Guterres will plant trees together in the “Forest of Peace,” established in honor of COP31, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said. According to him, 6,219 fires were extinguished in Türkiye in 2026, while the area of affected forests declined by around 68%.

The Mediterranean, well known to Russian tourists, has also become one of the issues that the Turkish presidency is bringing to the conference. The official COP31 Türkiye account released a teaser for the documentary “Blue Sense” about the “silent crisis” beneath the sea’s surface.

In the one-minute clip, the camera moves from the shoreline underwater, showing a diver, schools of fish and seagrass meadows, while the film’s subjects talk about life by the sea. The creators warn that invasive species and rising water temperatures threaten the Mediterranean’s fragile balance. “It is impossible to truly know the sea by looking only at its surface. Its real story is hidden in the depths,” the post says.

International assessments and new initiatives

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told Anadolu that Türkiye was handling preparations for COP31 “excellently, both organizationally and strategically.” Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation and one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, said Türkiye could play an important role in building bridges between the parties. EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said the bank had already invested 2.5 billion euros in Türkiye this year and expected a record amount of more than 2.7 billion euros by year-end.

The conference will present the Türkiye Industrial Decarbonization Investment Platform (TIDIP), which is expected to attract 5 billion euros by 2030. Somalı, head of the Association of Electric Mobility Operators, called COP31 an opportunity to showcase Türkiye’s technologies in the sector to the world. The T3 Foundation, T3 Entrepreneurship Center and Zero Waste Foundation are also holding a climate technology creaton under the slogan “Technology for climate — solutions for the future!” Applications closed on Nov. 2, and the final will take place on Nov. 17–18. The winners will receive an overseas trip, direct access to the T3 pre-incubation program and Take Off Istanbul, and an opportunity to speak at the Zero Waste Forum.

The organizers marked the start of the final three-day countdown with another video: “Only 3 days left to be part of the change!”

In the 16-second video, footage of a hurricane seen from space, storm clouds and a mist-covered forest gives way to views of the Expo Tower and the summit venue with the slogan “Let’s change our planet.” The words “3 days to go” and the COP31 logo appear at the end. “We have no other planet, but we have the power to change it,” the organizers wrote.

Video: COP31 Türkiye, Murat Kurum / X. Photo: Anadolu. Cover: Wind farm on Bozcaada Island, canonim / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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