COP31 chair in Antalya highlights gaps in finance and technology

Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum formally assumed the COP31 presidency of the United Nations climate conference from Brazil, affirming that Türkiye is ready to serve as a bridge between the Global North and South. The leaders’ participation list includes 95 countries, among them Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and a large number of African countries.

The presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change formally passed from Brazil to Türkiye during the opening session of COP31 in Antalya. COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago handed the gavel, made from Amazon rainforest wood, to COP31 President and Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum.

Filmed from the delegates’ seats, the footage shows Corrêa do Lago presenting the gavel in a wooden box to Kurum on the stage before the two shake hands, as giant screens relay the handover to the hall.

“Invisible distances” between the North and South

In his opening address, Kurum focused on the gaps facing developing countries, saying: “There are invisible distances in the world. There is a distance between those who receive financing and those who do not, between those who possess technology and those who need it, and between countries with strong resilience and vulnerable communities. The great task of climate diplomacy is to reduce these distances.”

He added that Türkiye, which has historically served as a bridge, is now ready, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to take responsibility for bringing the aspirations of the North and South, and of developed and developing countries, together on common ground, and to work with Australia to find solutions to the problems facing vulnerable countries. He also warned that declining water supplies in one country are now affecting the economies, migration flows and security of other communities.

African participants in traditional dress outside the COP31 venue in Antalya

Adaptation finance and the “moral compass”

Kurum warned that adaptation finance that is not reaching countries today could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis tomorrow, pledging to place the voices of the most vulnerable countries and communities at the center of the conference agenda. He recalled the agreement in Baku on a target of at least $300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035.

Corrêa do Lago, for his part, stressed that the climate agenda is a development agenda and that the transition must not expose or deepen inequalities. He called for respect for the differences in countries’ circumstances and said: “Whatever we do, I believe we must never lose our moral compass.” Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, called on the conference to deliver practical solutions ensuring that adaptation finance is tripled, as decided last year.

Arab and African leaders in Antalya

According to Türkiye’s Environment Ministry, 95 countries and seven international organizations are participating at the leaders’ level, including 37 heads of state and 35 heads of government. From the Arab world, the list includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia and the Comoros, as well as Iran and Pakistan. From sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Togo, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are participating, among others. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is also represented at the leaders’ level.

“One Home” with Sertab Erener

Alongside the opening, Kurum released the song “One Home – Tek Ev,” prepared for COP31 by Turkish singer Sertab Erener, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. He said: “One world, one home, one sky, one hope, one voice.”

Erener appears in the video among Antalya’s landmarks, from the ancient Aspendos Theatre to the Düden waterfalls cascading toward the sea and sea turtles on the shore. The video ends at the conference venue with the COP31 Türkiye logo. The conference continues until November 20.

Photos: Anadolu Agency. Video: social media, TRT Haber

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COP31 chair in Antalya highlights gaps in finance and technology