COP31 climate summit to open in Türkiye's Antalya today

First held in Berlin in 1995, the annual summit provides a platform for countries party to the convention to assess progress in combating climate change, develop common solutions, and make decisions shaping global climate policies.

Türkiye will preside over this year's conference, which runs on Nov. 9-20 and addresses key decisions on sustainable development and climate policies.

A 1.1 million-square-meter (11.8 million-square-foot) venue has been prepared in Antalya for COP31, organized under the theme COP of the Future – COP of Implementation, built around three pillars: dialogue, consensus, and action.

The conference aims to strengthen trust and cooperation among countries, promote shared responsibility, and translate climate commitments into concrete, measurable actions.

Activities will take place in two designated areas, the Blue Zone and the Green Zone.

Official negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, high-level meetings, and diplomatic talks will be held in the Blue Zone, where access will be controlled under UN accreditation rules.

The Blue Zone includes plenary halls, delegation offices, pavilions, a press and media center, and restaurants.

The Green Zone, designed to encourage public participation, will feature thematic centers where government agencies, businesses, academics, civil society organizations, and young people can share climate solutions, technologies, and best practices through exhibitions, concerts, panels, workshops, and interactive activities.

The area includes the Türkiye Pavilion, Science Center, Green Industrialization, Resilient Cities, Energy and Transportation, Culture and Civilization, COPArt, and Start-up Zone facilities.

Meeting rooms and conference halls across the COP31 venue have been named after landmarks, historical figures, and cultural elements reflecting Anatolia's heritage and Turkish-Islamic civilization.

The largest plenary hall in the Blue Zone, with a capacity of 1,794 people, has been named "Anadolu." It will host state and government representatives and official negotiations.

Another plenary hall, with a capacity of 828 people, has been named "Akdeniz," while the zone also includes an "Antalya Hall."

In the Green Zone, the largest hall, with a capacity of 5,000 people, has been named "Gaza Hall."

A crisis management center has been established in the Green Zone under the coordination of the Antalya Governor's Office. 

The center will include representatives from the provincial police and health directorates, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, fire department, Antalya Water and Wastewater Administration, Aksu Municipality, electricity distributor AKEDAS, and natural gas distributor ENERYA.

To ensure rapid and effective access to health care, five medical stations will operate across the venue, including three in the Blue Zone and two in the Green Zone.

A total of 27,957 personnel from police, gendarmerie, and coast guard units will be deployed as part of security measures.

For transportation, 630 low-emission, environmentally friendly buses supplied by 25 municipalities will serve conference participants.

Earlier, it was reported that Kazakhstan is preparing to sign around 28 cooperation documents, including 19 memorandums of understanding, at the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Antalya, Türkiye.