Türkiye's Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has named the largest hall in the Green Zone of the United Nations COP31 Climate Change Conference, hosted by Antalya from November 9 to 20, Gaza Hall. The hall can accommodate 5,000 people, and the ministry said the name reflects Türkiye's sensitivity to the Palestinian cause and conveys a message of peace, human solidarity and shared responsibility.
A report by Türkiye's TRT Haber examined what Türkiye could gain from the summit, which will address issues ranging from the energy transition to zero waste.
Avicenna, Al-Farabi and Al-Biruni among hall names
The halls in the Green Zone, which is open to the public, have been named after scholars and thinkers including Avicenna, Al-Farabi, Al-Biruni, Ahmet Yesevi and Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar. The Blue Zone, reserved for official negotiations, includes the Anatolia Hall, with 1,794 seats, and the Mediterranean Hall, with 828 seats, as well as two press rooms named after Jalal al-Din Rumi and Yunus Emre. It also has 26 meeting rooms named after archaeological sites such as Göbekli Tepe, Ephesus, Zeugma, Cappadocia and Troy.
The Blue Zone covers 527,000 square meters and the Green Zone 582,000 square meters. They are expected to receive around 100,000 and 1.5 million visitors, respectively, while the Leaders' Summit will be held on November 11 and 12.
WHO: Developing countries pay the price
In a report issued ahead of the conference, the World Health Organization said the climate crisis is also a health crisis. Between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people live in conditions of extreme vulnerability to climate change, while more than 90% of climate-related disaster deaths over the past 20 years occurred in developing countries. Children, pregnant women, older people and displaced people are among those most at risk. The organization said six proven measures, including early-warning systems for heatwaves, climate-resilient drinking water and sanitation, could save 1.6 million lives each year. The Antalya Health Resilience Initiative is expected to be launched at the conference.
Green industry and Anatolian cotton
Türkiye will launch the Industrial Decarbonization Investment Platform (TIDIP) in Antalya. The platform was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Technology together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, with the aim of supporting more than 5 billion euros in investments by 2030 in the iron and steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizer sectors, and reducing emissions by around 20 million tons annually. The European Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank are expected to join the platform during the conference. Cotton from the Southeastern Anatolia region, produced according to Better Cotton standards, will also be showcased as part of a project with the United Nations Development Programme that has reduced irrigation water use by around 45%, alongside Turkish-Dutch cooperation plans for offshore wind energy.
The conference program and participation details are available on the official website cop31.tr.
Video: TRT Haber. Photos: Anadolu
