UNDP highlights Turkey’s rising role in regional climate action
Meral Mungan Arda, manager of UNDP Türkiye’s climate change and environment portfolio, made the remarks at the “Awareness Raising Conference on Climate Action in Türkiye After COP30,” held in Istanbul as part of an EU-funded Partnership for Local Climate Action Project, with the Directorate of Climate Change serving as the main beneficiary.
Arda highlighted that the COP30 summit in November 2025 in Belem, Brazil, revealed that current national climate pledges are insufficient to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to levels consistent with global targets, even if fully implemented. She emphasized that, a decade after the Paris Agreement, the world remains far from limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, underscoring the need to shift from planning to tangible action.
Climate finance was a major focus at COP30, Arda said, noting that funding remains essential for both emissions reduction and adaptation to climate impacts. “Financing needs for both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change remain a top priority. As we head toward COP31, these issues are likely to take center stage in Türkiye as well,” she said.
She pointed to progress on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, agreed at COP29 and advanced at COP30, which calls on developed nations to mobilize at least $300 billion annually from public sources by 2035, while increasing total climate finance flows, including private funds, to $1.3 trillion per year to support developing countries.
Arda stressed that one of the EU Partnership project’s main objectives is to activate climate action at the local level, highlighting that both mitigation and adaptation require coordinated efforts across sectors. She also reflected on COP30, noting that the summit reinforced the ongoing importance of multilateral cooperation despite shifting global dynamics.
“Türkiye is a strong player in climate action. We observe that Türkiye has taken on a leadership role in regional climate efforts. Türkiye’s contributions in this area are highly significant,” Arda said. She added that hosting COP31 provides a unique opportunity to showcase Türkiye’s achievements and inspire other nations.
The COP, as the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has met annually since 1995 to assess progress and negotiate global climate policies. COP31 is scheduled to take place in Türkiye in 2026, primarily in Antalya, and is expected to draw nearly 200 countries to discuss emissions targets, adaptation measures, climate finance, and carbon-market regulations under the Paris Agreement framework.
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