The parties meet every year to take joint decisions on issues such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change and climate finance. Because decisions are taken by consensus, negotiations often run until the final day, and sometimes into overtime.
Some milestones stand out in the conference’s journey so far:
COP1 – Berlin (1995): The parties met for the first time.
COP3 – Kyoto (1997): The Kyoto Protocol, which set binding emission reduction targets for developed countries, was adopted.
COP21 – Paris (2015): The Paris Agreement was signed, aiming to keep the rise in global temperature well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
COP29 – Baku (2024): A new climate finance goal for developing countries was set.
COP30 – Belém (2025): At the summit in Brazil, it was decided that the next conference would be held in Türkiye.
Hosting rotates among the UN’s five regional groups. In 2026, it was the turn of the “Western European and Others” group, which includes Türkiye.
In line with UN conference tradition, the summit venue consists of two main areas:
Blue Zone: The UN-managed area where official negotiations, plenary sessions and leaders’ meetings take place. It covers approximately 526,000 square metres.
Green Zone: The area organised by the host country and dedicated to events by civil society, the private sector, academia and public institutions. It covers approximately 582,000 square metres.
According to officials, close to 100,000 participants from 196 countries, more than 100 heads of state and government and over 400 ministerial-level representatives are expected to attend the summit.
The COP31 application process depends on the area you wish to attend. Access to the Blue Zone requires UNFCCC accreditation, which is granted to national delegations, observer organisations registered with the UNFCCC and members of the media. Participation and registration conditions for the Green Zone are set by the host country. We recommend following the official channels of the UNFCCC and the COP31 Presidency for up-to-date application dates and conditions.
Key issues on the negotiating table
Climate finance: The resources developing countries need to reach their climate goals are at the heart of the agenda. Discussions will cover the implementation of the Baku to Belém Roadmap, launched at COP29, which aims to scale up climate finance to 1.3 trillion dollars a year by 2035.
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs): Completing the submissions that set out countries’ emission reduction plans, and turning these plans into action, is one of the headline topics.
Adaptation: The Global Goal on Adaptation indicators, on which no consensus was reached at the intersessional meetings in Bonn in June 2026, will be back on the table in Antalya.
Action agenda
Alongside the negotiations, Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency has prepared an action agenda covering cities, the private sector and financial institutions. It includes topics such as the transition to clean energy, electrification, zero waste and the circular economy, oceans and climate-friendly finance.
The presidency of the negotiations is held by Australia and exercised by Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen. The Pre-COP, the preparatory meeting ahead of the summit, was held in Fiji in October 2026 to highlight the priorities of Pacific island countries.
