Turkish official: COP31 to focus on climate finance, delivery of climate goals

Türkiye’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and COP31 President, Murat Kurum, has stated that the upcoming UN climate conference will prioritise climate financing, emphasising the need to turn past commitments into action.

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Kurum said the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), to be held in Türkiye this year, will centre on funding mechanisms needed to meet global climate goals.

He noted that implementing initiatives adopted at previous conferences would be a key part of the agenda.

Kurum stressed that financing remains the most critical challenge, estimating that developing countries will require nearly $1 trillion to achieve their climate targets.

According to him, amid ongoing wars and security crises, raising public awareness about climate policy is essential.

“Important decisions have been taken in every COP so far. We will follow up these decisions, ​but what is essential is putting them into practice. The expectation of the world, of humanity from ⁠us is to move to practice,” he said.

The minister urged countries to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted at previous COP sessions, noting that some countries have yet to present them.

Kurum made it clear that, despite ongoing conflicts worldwide, Türkiye will call on all countries to focus on the “big picture” and address looming climate-related threats.

He said Türkiye aims to prioritise implementation over promises at COP31.

“We want all countries to hand in their ​NDCs by COP31. We are working ​for this, we are also ⁠working for this within the UN,” he said, adding that developing countries will need about $150 million to prepare their NDCs.

Kurum also pointed to the lack of concrete language on phasing out fossil fuels as a key shortcoming of COP30.

Addressing how the issue will be handled at COP31, he said Türkiye intends to push for the implementation of COP30 decisions and noted that technologies enabling such a transition still require further development.

He added that Türkiye currently relies on both renewable and fossil energy sources to meet its needs and ensure energy self-sufficiency, but is prepared to move away from fossil fuels if more affordable technologies become available.

“We must bring moving away from fossil fuels to the global agenda by providing a transition period. During COP31, we will put into ​effect those partial decisions taken in COP30,” Kurum stressed.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov