T\u00fcrkiye holds the Presidency and hosts the conference; Australia runs the negotiations. That arrangement explains most of the confusion around this summit, and it is where any guide to COP31 Antalya has to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2192 Below: the dates, who is actually in charge, what is on the agenda, what COP30 left unfinished, and how to get in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In short<\/p>\n
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- COP31 runs from 9 to 20 November 2026<\/strong> in Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye. Roughly 100,000 participants<\/strong> are expected.<\/li>\n
- For the first time, the presidency and the management of the negotiations are split between two countries<\/strong>. T\u00fcrkiye holds the COP31 Presidency<\/strong> and hosts the summit; Australia runs the negotiation process as President of Negotiations<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- The official Action Agenda has ten themes<\/strong>. Clean Energy Transition<\/strong> and Green Industrialization<\/strong> speak most directly to industrial companies.<\/li>\n
- The largest unresolved file carried over from COP30 is the language on moving away from fossil fuels<\/strong>. On finance, a goal of 1.3 trillion dollars a year<\/strong> is on the table.<\/li>\n
- The host country arrives with new climate legislation of its own: a Climate Law<\/strong> in force since 9 July 2025<\/strong> and an Emissions Trading System regulation<\/strong> published on 27 August 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n
When and where is COP31 Antalya?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COP31 Antalya takes place from 9 to 20 November 2026<\/strong> in Antalya, on T\u00fcrkiye’s Mediterranean coast. Roughly 100,000 participants are expected across the two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, the annual meeting of the countries party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The thirty-first of those meetings is the one being held in T\u00fcrkiye. The UNFCCC conference page<\/a> is the authoritative source for scheduling as it firms up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a practical reason Antalya was chosen over larger Turkish cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only a handful of places can absorb close to a hundred thousand participants, their delegations and the side events at the same time, and that comes down to accommodation and congress infrastructure rather than prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the two weeks there are thematic days, the Leaders’ Summit and a large number of side events. As the agenda thickens, the real bargaining usually slips into the second week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is running COP31 Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye or Australia?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is the most frequently misreported thing about COP31, and both answers are correct, because there are two separate roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
T\u00fcrkiye holds the COP31 Presidency. The President is Murat Kurum<\/strong>, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. The summit takes place in T\u00fcrkiye and the Leaders’ Summit convenes there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia runs the negotiation process as President of Negotiations. The role was defined in a formal document<\/a> the parties agreed on, and it is structured as an authority delegated by the COP31 President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"COP31](\"https:\/\/apollo.eco\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cop31-presidency-structure-1024x683.png\")
The COP31 Antalya presidency structure. The summit and the Leaders’ Summit take place in T\u00fcrkiye, the negotiation process is run by Australia, and the Pre-COP is in Fiji.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n How this came about matters for reading the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
T\u00fcrkiye and Australia had both bid to host the same year, and rather than one withdrawing, the two settled on an unusual formula: the conference in T\u00fcrkiye, the negotiations under Australia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the first time in the history of the COP that the presidency function has been divided this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pre-COP is being held in Fiji, with the support of the Australian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a deliberate choice that puts the island states most affected by climate change at the center of the preparatory process. While the host country was being decided, the point Australia kept drawing attention to was precisely the prospect of Pacific island nations going under water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blue Zone and Green Zone: what is the difference?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A COP is made up of two separate areas, and the distinction decides what attending is actually worth to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Blue Zone<\/strong> is where the formal negotiations happen. It is administered by the United Nations and only accredited participants may enter. Country delegations, observer organizations and accredited press are found here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Green Zone<\/strong> is open to the public. Exhibitions, events and awareness activities take place there, and corporate visibility work happens largely in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is on the COP31 agenda?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- For the first time, the presidency and the management of the negotiations are split between two countries<\/strong>. T\u00fcrkiye holds the COP31 Presidency<\/strong> and hosts the summit; Australia runs the negotiation process as President of Negotiations<\/strong>.<\/li>\n