Phoenix pavilion and 20,000 butterflies to welcome COP31 guests in Antalya

Türkiye completed preparations for the UN COP31 climate conference four days before its opening, with a robot-printed “Phoenix” pavilion made from earthquake rubble and a tropical garden containing 20,000 butterflies now in place in Antalya. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will attend the summit, while international experts have praised Türkiye’s diplomatic role.

Four days before the opening of the UN COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye has completed its preparations. The 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in the country for the first time from November 9 to 20, under the chairmanship of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum. Ankara aims to make it a “COP of implementation,” where pledges are turned into concrete action. Leaders from 197 countries are expected in Antalya.

The official COP31 Türkiye account on X published a countdown video: “When the balance of our planet is disrupted, it directly affects our shared future. Only four days remain to preserve that balance and take concrete steps.”

“Phoenix” pavilion made from earthquake rubble

One of the venue’s symbols is the “Anka” pavilion, the Turkish name for the phoenix. The 140-square-meter structure was built in the “Green Zone” as part of the KADİYAP project, implemented with funding from the World Bank and the French Development Agency. Like the mythical bird rising from the ashes, the pavilion was made from building rubble collected in Hatay after the earthquake.

At a construction-waste recycling facility in Hatay, the rubble was crushed into powder and fine sand, and the concrete produced from it exceeded the required strength standards. In Antalya, a tracked robot used 3D concrete-printing technology to build curved walls, seven twisted columns and benches on site without formwork, while the honeycomb roof panels were made from plastic waste. Of the structure’s 54 tons, 33 tons, or 60%, came from rubble, and printing took just seven days.

“Phoenix” pavilion printed from earthquake rubble in the COP31 “Green Zone” in Antalya

Climate-resilient cities are one of the 10 priorities of the COP31 Action Agenda. The “Sustainable Cities Hub” will operate in the “Green Zone” for projects by municipalities, public institutions and businesses, while the world will be shown climate-resilient homes built after the earthquake in 11 provinces as part of the “building mobilization of the century.” “Türkiye’s vision for sustainable cities will inspire the world at COP31. At the summit, we will present the building mobilization of the century and share the story of our 11 cities, which, like the phoenix, rose from the ashes and became symbols of solidarity and resilience,” Murat Kurum wrote on social media.

20,000 butterflies and the “Blue Zone”

Another new feature of the venue is the “Konya Tropical Butterfly Garden,” created by the Selçuklu district municipality. The 2,600-square-meter garden is home to 20,000 butterflies from 10 species, and visitors will learn about their role in nature. “The colors of nature are also at COP31. With our Tropical Butterfly Garden at the COP31 venue, we are flapping our wings toward a green future. Everything you seek and dream of is here,” Kurum wrote, publishing footage from the garden.

The ministry said preparations for the summit had been completed. Around 100,000 visitors are expected alongside national delegations in the “Blue Zone,” the 527,000-square-meter diplomatic center where the climate negotiations will take place.

Who will come to Antalya

China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Vice President Han Zheng would represent China at the conference as President Xi Jinping’s special representative. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva that he would meet world leaders in Türkiye the following week. “At the WHO, we will once again emphasize that the climate crisis is essentially a health crisis, and that the strongest argument for climate action is health,” he said.

According to Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, head of the WHO’s climate change, energy and air quality unit, Türkiye has become one of the leaders in advancing health issues at COP negotiations: “Türkiye has made climate-resilient and dynamic health systems one of COP31’s 10 priorities. We see this as concrete progress.” A major “Health Day” featuring Tedros will be held on the conference’s first day.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, presenting the “National Energy 2040” strategy in Istanbul, said: “The target Türkiye will present to the international community at COP31 is 35% electrification by 2035.” He said Türkiye plans to raise its electrification rate to 36% by 2040 and invest more than ever in energy efficiency and electrification: “We need $15 billion in investment annually.”

Türkiye’s role receives high praise

Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation and one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, told Anadolu: “I believe the political weight Türkiye possesses and can use is particularly important for building bridges between different sides. Türkiye has its own, distinctive diplomacy and its own, distinctive role. In my view, that role is very useful right now, and we need countries that take on such a mission.” She said Türkiye’s assessments and messages as COP31 president could have a major impact.

Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation

Tubiana also described Türkiye’s goal of raising global electrification to 35% by 2035 as an important step, noted the country’s strong renewable energy sector and expressed hope that Antalya would become a turning point when the world faces reality.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso told Anadolu in London that implementation of commitments would be at the center of COP31. “Türkiye is genuinely accelerating its work in renewable energy,” she said, describing the country as highly successful in bringing different positions closer together and as “an emerging market that has truly embraced the green agenda.”

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso

The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Türkiye. Since the beginning of the year, the bank has invested 2.5 billion euros in the country and expects to exceed last year’s 2.7 billion euros by year-end, which would be a record. Of that amount, 1.7 billion euros has already been directed to green projects. Renaud-Basso also noted that Türkiye was the first to establish an investment platform for industrial decarbonization, under which around 380 million euros has already been invested.

Video: COP31 Türkiye, Anadolu. Photo: Anadolu