Delegations from around the world gathered in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya on Monday for the opening of COP31, the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The COP process began in the 1990s as the main venue where countries negotiate how to respond to climate change, from setting emissions targets to arranging financial support for lower income countries adapting to a changing climate. Each year's summit is hosted by a different country and draws tens of thousands of government officials, scientists, business representatives, and advocates for roughly two weeks of negotiations, side events, and announcements. Recent editions have focused heavily on how to turn broad commitments made in earlier years into financed, trackable action, including how much money wealthier nations and private investors will put toward clean energy and climate adaptation in developing economies.
This year's gathering in Antalya opened with the traditional procedural sessions that kick off every COP, where delegates confirm the agenda and leadership for the two weeks ahead before substantive negotiating sessions begin. The host country typically uses the opening days to set thematic priorities for the summit, and attention in the coming days is expected to turn to familiar sticking points from past COPs: how quickly countries will commit to cutting emissions, how climate finance pledges will actually be delivered, and how to address the energy needs of growing economies without derailing climate goals.
COP summits rarely produce their most consequential outcomes on the opening day. The real negotiating usually intensifies in the final days of the two week window, when ministers arrive to break logjams on the toughest issues.
Expect the most significant announcements, on finance commitments and emissions targets, to come in the second week as ministerial level talks intensify.
What does COP stand for?
Conference of the Parties, the annual meeting of countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Why does the host city change every year?
The hosting role rotates among regions and countries by agreement, giving different parts of the world a turn to set the summit's venue and some of its priorities.