President Erdoğan announced that he will organize Antalya COP31 in 2026

Speaking at the 'Climate Event' program at the UN Headquarters, President Erdoğan made the following statements:

Any proposal that fails to align our climate targets with social and economic realities will be doomed to failure.

(Climate targets) It is unrealistic to expect all countries to progress at the same pace while inequalities in access to finance and technology persist.

To the extent that we can establish a strong link between climate goals and development and prosperity, we can make the just transition permanent.

You will remember, last year I stated here that Türkiye was a candidate for the COP31 presidency. This year, we will organize COP31 in Antalya between 9-20 November 2026.

We are working to make this meeting an event where the decisions we make regarding climate change are put into practice.

Together with Australia, we are carrying out preparations with an understanding that will bring the expectations of different geographies to the agenda.

I believe that a COP to be held in Fiji and the leaders' meeting in Tuvalu will be instrumental in making the voices of Pacific countries heard.

Dear participants, the last 11 years, the last year, have been the hottest period on record. The flood disaster in Nepal showed very painfully that we have no time to waste anymore.

On this occasion, I would like to once again express my best wishes to the people of Nepal on behalf of my country and nation.

As you know, we determined our common goals in the first 10 years of the Paris Agreement. We made important decisions last year to make the second 10 years successful.

We have to achieve much more in Antalya. We must bring the claim and the possibility, the goal and the implementation closer together. We built the COP in terms of implementing our vision for COP31.

We have set new targets in the period leading up to 2035, especially in priority areas such as electrification and zero waste. We expect you to give strong support to this agenda.

My dear friends, any proposal that cannot bring our climate goals together with social and economic realities will be doomed to failure.

Steps that will strengthen the welfare of countries need to be shaped in line with their own conditions, possibilities and development priorities.

It is unrealistic to expect all countries to progress at the same pace while inequalities in access to finance and technology continue.

To the extent that we can establish a strong link between climate goals and development and prosperity, we can make the just transition permanent.

With these thoughts, I wish our meeting to be beneficial and I respectfully greet you all with the hope of meeting with you again in Antalya.