Leaders of past UN climate change conferences met the Turkish team at a three-day Zero Waste Foundation retreat in Istanbul to share their experience ahead of COP31, this year’s conference set to take place in Antalya on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast.

COP31 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Antalya this year under Türkiye’s presidency and hosting. Ahead of the summit, widely regarded as the year’s most important climate gathering, the Zero Waste Foundation convened a three-day preparatory retreat in Istanbul on Feb. 6-8.

Chaired by Samed Agirbas, president of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 high-level climate champion, the meeting brought together senior advisers, UN Zero-Waste Advisory Board members and key COP31 stakeholders to map out the road to the summit.

Nigar Arpadarai, high-level climate champion of COP29 in Baku, and Ana Toni, CEO of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, spoke to Anadolu about their COP experiences and discussions during the retreat.

Arpadarai said COP29 featured a $300B climate finance agreement along with decisions on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including the operationalization of carbon markets and other related issues.

She said the Baku summit had advanced climate negotiations, while emphasizing the need for continuity and noting that considerable work remains.

Referring to COP30 as an “implementation COP,” Arpadarai said the focus has now shifted to putting previously agreed decisions into action.

“We are now in Türkiye, and in the coming months the Turkish team will be preparing for this global process. It is important to see how the international community comes together to agree on the future of the planet,” she said.

Highlighting the importance of such gatherings in bringing together all stakeholders, particularly in an increasingly polarized world, Arpadarai said: “We live in a world marked by wars, conflicts and instability. Climate action is a unifying agenda, and we believe it is important to preserve that unity. That is why we stand ready to support Türkiye’s efforts in global climate action.”

“It is great to see Türkiye host COP31, and we were pleased to hear the news. Türkiye has significant potential to contribute to global diplomacy, as it has done over the years. Bringing the global climate community together in Antalya in November will create strong momentum,” she added.

‘Efforts of Zero Waste Foundation are noteworthy’

On preparatory meetings organized by the Zero Waste Foundation to bring together stakeholders, Arpadarai said: “It was encouraging to see that the COP31 high-level climate champion has a dynamic team and a clear vision for the future, particularly regarding engagement with non-state actors. The Zero Waste Foundation’s efforts are also significant. As a result of the leadership of Her Excellency Emine Erdogan, the zero-waste agenda has reached the UN General Assembly and is now evolving into a global movement. The foundation can contribute to the activities of the COP31 high-level climate champion.”

“We came this week to share our experience of organizing COP30 with the leaders of COP31. However, each COP is different, so we can only offer our experience,” Toni said.

Toni reiterated that the world is going through a challenging geopolitical period.

“Reaching consensus decisions at any COP is difficult, and it has been even harder at this moment. In Belem, we managed to secure agreement on 56 decisions by consensus, which we are pleased about. But this is a moment for implementation,” she said.

Toni pointed out that although no consensus was reached at COP30 on a proposed roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, significant progress had nevertheless been made.

“We expect this issue to be discussed throughout the year, and it will ultimately be up to COP31 to decide how to steer the topic during the conference itself. But a COP is not just a meeting, nor is everything decided there by consensus. The debate built over the course of the year is equally important,” she said.

Toni said that although reaching decisions is difficult, agreements secured after lengthy negotiations must now be implemented.

She expressed excitement over Türkiye’s hosting of COP31: “I am fully confident that Türkiye's leadership, and the process to be carried out together with Australia, will make COP31 highly successful.”

Toni highlighted that she observed Ankara advancing preparations within a pragmatic framework during the meetings, adding: “I got the impression that care was taken to ensure the selected themes reflected people’s needs.”

“At recent COPs, consensus-building has become more difficult, and there is no longer a single dominant issue at each summit. The focus now is on implementing the decisions already taken. There are multiple areas, including oceans, electrification, zero waste and gender, that require progress. We need to advance implementation across all these fronts rather than looking for a single ‘silver bullet’ to solve everything. By accelerating action in each area, we can bring everyone along,” she said.