The key facts

  • COP31 will be held November 9–20, 2026, in Antalya (Turkey); the Turkish presidency has defined 10 priority areas, with waste management first.
  • According to the October Emissions Gap Report 2026, fulfilling all current national commitments would leave the world on a path to warming of about 2.6°C — above the Paris Agreement goals (1.5–2°C).
  • UNEP's priorities for the summit: reliance on climate science, accelerating emission reductions and adaptation, including increased financing.

The summit that must deliver on promises

The 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) will be held from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey. Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu called the summit a chance to turn years of promises into real action: “COP31 is the COP that must deliver on the promises, commitments and assurances that have been given.” Nearly 11 years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, he said, the world is still far from its goals.

The gap between goals and reality

UNEP's October Emissions Gap Report 2026 showed that even with full implementation of current national climate commitments, the world is on track for warming of about 2.6°C by the end of the century — well above the Paris Agreement's goal of holding temperature rise well below 2°C and pursuing efforts toward 1.5°C. Krause stressed that greenhouse gas emissions have not yet even peaked, and urged “bending the curve” downward.

Priorities: fossil fuels, methane, waste

As a first step, Krause named the phased phase-out of fossil fuels in energy, transport and industry — coal first, then oil and natural gas. He described methane emission reductions as “low-hanging fruit” and an “emergency brake on runaway climate change”: ready-made solutions exist in the fuel, waste and agricultural sectors. He separately endorsed the Turkish presidency's priority of waste management: landfills are a major source of methane, and capturing it or preventing food waste from reaching landfills yields a significant effect. Turkey has identified 10 priority areas of climate policy, with waste at the top of the list. Krause also mentioned measures against extreme heat — shading, natural ventilation and urban planning solutions.

Science, adaptation and money

UNEP's three priorities for the summit are: following climate science (Krause warned about the growing flow of climate change disinformation), accelerating emission reductions, and adapting to impacts already underway — heat, floods, melting glaciers and thawing permafrost. He called existing financing mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility, insufficient for the scale of investment needed, pointing to national budgets and the private sector as additional sources. Questions remain open about contributions to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the amount of financing required, and the mechanisms for delivering aid to the hardest-hit countries. Krause also noted Turkey's climate steps over the past 5–10 years: a climate law, net-zero targets and work on an emissions trading system.