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Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency and the IEA unveiled a new strategic partnership to deliver priority areas ahead of the summit later this year.
The UN’s 2026 climate summit, COP31, will be hosted in Antalya this November as part of an unusual co-hosting deal struck between Türkiye and Australia. Australia will as summit president, and a pre-COP event will be hosted in the Pacific to amplify the involvement of island states.
Launched at a High-Level Dialogue at the IEA headquarters in Paris this week, the new partnership with deliver policy advice and analysis on key areas.
A priority focus is exploring the impact of waste and recycling measures on climate change. The COP31 Presidency is also committed to placing access to clean cooking “at the centre of the global agenda”
COP31 President-Designate H.E. Murat Kurum said: “I am delighted to announce a strategic partnership between COP31 and the IEA.
“Combining the IEA’s unparalleled technical expertise with the unique convening power and political leadership of COP, we will deliver concrete solutions and help build agreement on energy systems fit for the future.”
The partnership is also focusing on the energy crisis, arguing that skyrocketing costs, compounded by cuts to international aid is creating a “twin crisis that is putting immense pressure on vulnerable families across the developing world”.
Work to do
Around three-quarters of Türkiye’s energy mix is accounted for by fossil fuels, in a fairly even split between coal, oil and gas. Its energy-related emissions have almost doubled since 2000.
Türkiye’s plan for achieving its fair share of emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement has widely been regarded as too weak. It commits the nation to a 41% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 against a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, but, in reality, emissions will continue to increase through 2038.
Türkiye, which is co-hosting the annual UN-convened climate summit this winter, is not making strong progress to deliver any of the body’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This is according to an assessment of progress across Europe by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). This assessment ranks Türkiye as the worst-performing country of the 35 covered.
