COP31 begins in Antalya with an early fight over climate finance

The 31st UN climate conference, COP31, begins in Antalya on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast on Monday 9 November 2026 and is scheduled to run until 20 November. Before formal business had even started, negotiators from rich and poorer countries were in a dispute over whether climate finance should be added to the official agenda, and AFP reported that the opening ceremony had been delayed by an hour without explanation.

Türkiye holds the presidency, with environment minister Murat Kurum as COP31 president, while Australia's climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen, leads the negotiations under an unusual arrangement that settled a rivalry over who would host. The US government is not taking part in negotiations after President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement, although a group of US lawmakers plans to attend.

This article explains what the conference is, what governments are arguing about and what to watch over the next two weeks. It is based on UN schedule documents and reporting by AFP, RFI, Al Jazeera and Bianet published on 9 November. The talks were only beginning at the time of writing, so any outcomes are still unknown.

What is COP31 and who is running it?

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, the annual summit of countries that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UNFCCC secretariat's formal notice describes the Antalya meeting as three linked sessions: COP31, the 21st meeting of parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the eighth meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement. The formal opening plenary was scheduled for 10:00 local time on 9 November in the Plenary Anadolu hall at the venue, with an overflow room for delegates who could not get a seat.

The UNFCCC's overview schedule lists a pre-sessional period from 2 to 8 November and the main sessional period from 9 to 20 November. A high-level segment for heads of state and government, described as the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, is scheduled for 11 and 12 November, according to PressEuropa's summary of the programme. Representatives from nearly 200 countries are expected to take part, Bianet reported, and AFP said more than 100,000 people are expected to attend.

The presidency and Australia have branded Antalya the "implementation COP", meaning the focus is supposed to be on carrying out existing promises rather than making new headline pledges. Each day has a theme: food, agriculture and health on the opening day, followed by energy and transport on 10 November, according to the UN schedule.

Why are countries already arguing about money?

AFP reported that negotiators were locked in talks late on Sunday over demands from developing countries to put climate-finance items on the formal agenda. Under the UN climate agreements, developed countries, which are historically responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, provide financial support to help poorer countries adapt to climate impacts and move to cleaner energy. Developing countries say the sums are too small.

Jasper Inventor, head of Greenpeace's COP31 delegation, told AFP it had "already been a difficult start", and said developed countries were "taking a hard line" over whether to include a platform agreed at COP30 in Brazil to discuss how wealthy nations should provide funds. African countries also want dedicated discussion of the pledge made at COP30 to at least triple adaptation finance. AFP also reported that a senior European Union official warned last week that there would be "no political will" for extra funding pledges at COP31.

The numbers behind the dispute are large. RFI, citing the UN Environment Programme, reported that adapting to a hotter world will cost developing countries around $305 billion a year by 2035 at today's prices, while wealthy countries provided around $30 billion for adaptation in 2024. Even if the tripling pledge is fulfilled, UNEP found it would cover only 20 to 29 per cent of developing countries' needs by 2035, and the agreement sets no starting year for measuring the increase. A fund for countries suffering climate-related losses received requests worth $2.8 billion in its first funding round against $342 million available, RFI reported.

"The problem is not only how much, but on what terms," Nana Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, chair of the African group of negotiators, wrote in a commentary before the summit quoted by RFI, calling for predictable grants rather than loans that add to national debt.

What is Türkiye's electrification pledge?

The presidency's flagship idea is a non-binding "35 by 35" Global Electrification Pledge, which aims for electricity to supply at least 35 per cent of global energy demand by 2035. Al Jazeera, citing the International Energy Agency, reported that electricity currently accounts for about one-fifth of total final energy consumption worldwide.