Money is expected to be one of the most contested issues in Antalya, particularly to fund adaptation and loss and damage in countries most vulnerable to climate disasters, like developing nations and small island states.
At COP29 in Baku in 2024, developed countries agreed to mobilise at least $300 billion (€268bn) a year for developing nations by 2035, as part of a wider $1.3 trillion (€1.63tn) target from public and private sources.
At COP30 last year, governments agreed to push for at least a tripling of adaptation finance by 2035, but without settling the baseline, who pays or how the money will be delivered.
A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report published days before the summit found even tripling current international public adaptation finance would meet just 23-29 per cent of developing countries’ needs.
Where that shortfall comes from and how it is channelled to those who need it is expected to be central to talks at COP31.
Outside the talks: Will protest be allowed at COP31?
For Turkish NGOs, COP31 could offer a rare chance to be heard in a country where, activists say, space for public protest has been steadily shrinking.
A People’s Climate Summit, a grassroots initiative of more than 100 organisations and individuals, will run alongside the talks from 9 November. Organiser Cigdem Ozbas told news agency AFP that more than 1,000 people and 300 organisations from 100 countries have signed up.
The first week will focus on making their demands visible, with forums and evening monitoring sessions in the second week examining proposals they see as greenwashing. A major rally is planned for 14 November, with unions and rights groups expected to join.
Activists are optimistic that COP, as a civil society gathering, won’t face similar crackdowns to July’s NATO summit in Ankara, where police detained more than 4,400 people on terror-related charges, including journalists, civil society leaders and over a dozen environmental volunteers.
But the episode showed how quickly space can be restricted, and Ozlem Katisoz of Climate Action Network Türkiye warned that detentions can happen at any time.
Turkish groups also want a say inside the process. Climate Network Türkiye, a coalition of 15 organisations, is seeking access to negotiators, but there is no formal consultation process. Katisoz has urged visiting delegates to check the presidency’s statements against reality at home, such as the new coal plants still under development.
