Türkiye regulations · 15 November 2026
102 leaders notify COP31 participation as Kurum outlines action targets
The ministry’s November 8 announcement reports participation notifications from 102 national leaders and outlines targets for electrification, energy intensity and circular material use.
Leaders from 102 countries had notified their participation in the COP31 Leaders’ Summit, according to a November 8, 2026 announcement by Türkiye’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Speaking from the conference venue in Antalya, COP31 President and Minister Murat Kurum outlined preparations and targets covering energy, waste and circularity. [Source](https://csb.gov.tr/haberler/antalya-hazir-turkiye-hazir-307227)
Participation notifications and conference schedule
Answering questions on TRT Haber, Kurum said more than 300 ministers would also attend. The ministry’s report states that the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change would begin on November 9. Kurum said the event would end on November 20. The leadership figure reflects notifications received by the announcement date, rather than a count of attendance already recorded. Source
Official source: Republic of Türkiye — Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change ↗Electrification and resource-use ambitions
Under the Action Agenda, Kurum described a target of 35% electrification by 2035 across industry, agriculture, tourism, cities and transport. He also outlined a 25% reduction in buildings’ energy intensity by 2035 and a circular material use rate of 15% by that year. A further target concerns reducing waste by 50%, although the relevant passage provides no separate deadline for that ambition. These figures are targets announced by Kurum: the report does not present them as adopted conference decisions or legal obligations already in force. Source
Official source: Republic of Türkiye — Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change ↗Zero Waste arrangements at the venue
Kurum identified Zero Waste as one of the Action Agenda’s 10 items. He said almost everything at the event had been designed for recycling, with Turkish brands selected for procurement and a distance limit of 80 kilometres considered to reduce emissions. Plans also include Zero Waste villages, COPArt works centred on recycling and sustainability, education for children and startup activities supporting young people’s climate projects. These statements concern event design and planned activities; they do not provide measured emissions savings. Source
Official source: Republic of Türkiye — Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change ↗Success measured through implementation
Kurum said he wanted the conference’s success assessed through implemented actions, not simply decisions. He highlighted delivery of the Action Agenda, reduced fossil fuel use and fulfilment of commitments. Benefits for people’s lives, young people’s futures, farmers’ harvests and cities facing disasters were also among his stated measures of success. The announcement sets out expectations before the summit; it does not report that these outcomes have already been achieved. Source
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