New Delhi: Turkish environment minister Murat Kurum introduced the country’s Action Agenda for the upcoming COP31 at the UN ECOSOC in New York on 21 September.
Ahead of the annual climate summit, jointly hosted by Turkey and Australia, the Eurasian country formally launched its core agenda points for what is being called the “Implementation COP,” to be held from 9 to 20 November, in Antalya.
During his speech, Kurum mentioned that Turkey has 10 priority themes central to their agenda, ranging from food systems to clean energy, oceans and seas and zero wastage implementation. He also added that the upcoming conference will focus on moving from deciding climate targets to actually implementing solutions.
“For us, implementation is not simply about announcing many more commitments. We already have enough commitments and projects that have been announced. Now it is about translating existing commitments into measurable results on the ground,” said Kurum.
In addition to broad agenda themes, the COP co-president also launched a series of commitments with a 2035 goal. These commitments include increasing the share of electricity in energy consumption to 35 percent globally, reducing projected municipal waste generation by at least 50 per cent, reducing building energy intensity by at least 25 per cent, and increasing the global circular-material-use rate to at least 15 per cent.
The first goal, increasing the share of electricity in energy consumption, is part of the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, which will be a core theme of COP31. Announced in June 2026, this pledge is championed by both COP presidents and commits countries to increase electricity consumption and reduce overall emissions globally. The pledge aims to achieve this through clean energy, led by electric vehicles and grid overhauls.
According to Kurum, this could potentially reduce global emissions of CO2 by 8.5 to 10 gigatonnes by 2035.
Apart from electrification, the other major agenda point put forward by Turkey is the Climate Implementation Bridge (CIB), which will serve as a country-specific initiative to help every member country create a tangible plan to achieve their climate commitments. This involves reviewing nationally determined commitments, long-term strategies, financial partners, investment opportunities and other factors to build a clear implementation plan.
Toward the end of his speech, Kurum also brought up the recent floods in the Bhotekoshi River, which killed over 1,500 people in Nepal and Tibet.
“There was a big disaster in Nepal. And a school principal, 13 minutes before the disaster, saved 900 kids from his school. What he did should be done by everyone. All of us have this obligation (to save people),” said Kurum.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)