A total of 102 leaders representing 95 countries and seven international organisations are expected to attend the UN's COP31 Climate Change Conference in Türkiye, with participation from six continents, the Turkish Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry announced.

According to a ministry statement, COP31, taking place in Antalya on November 9-20, will bring together 196 countries and the EU, all parties to the convention.

The summit is expected to draw 37 heads of state, 35 heads of government, eight vice-presidents, seven deputy prime ministers, two crown princes, one prince, one parliamentary speaker, and four special representatives.

Seven international organisations have also confirmed participation at the leadership level: the European Commission, the UN, the UN General Assembly, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Representatives from Africa

Leaders and senior representatives are expected from countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania.

European participants include Austria, the UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Finland, the Greek Cypriot administration, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Montenegro, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Russia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

African participants include Botswana, Burundi, Algeria, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Zimbabwe.

From Asia and the Middle East, participants include Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, China, Indonesia, Armenia, Palestine, South Korea, Georgia, Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government, Iran, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Maldives, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Coordinated response to climate change

The Americas will be represented by Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.

Australia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu are also expected to participate.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted in 1992.

All parties to the convention are represented at COP meetings, where they review the implementation of the convention and related legal instruments, assess global progress, and adopt decisions aimed at ensuring an effective and coordinated response to climate change. Decisions are adopted by consensus among all parties rather than by majority vote.

Milestones

A total of 196 countries and the EU are represented in the COP process.

One of COP's main functions is to review national communications and greenhouse gas inventories submitted by participating countries.

Over the years, COP meetings have produced major milestones in global climate action, including the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, helping shape the direction of international climate policy.

At COP31, Türkiye holds the summit presidency and serves as host, while Australia chairs the negotiations.

Climate finance

Discussions are expected to focus on climate finance, a just transition, adaptation, and emissions reduction.

Climate finance needed to support efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels is expected to remain a central issue, as at previous COP summits.

Türkiye is hosting a COP summit for the first time, with Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum serving as COP31 president under a presidential circular.

Ankara views its hosting role as more than a technical process of managing the negotiation schedule.

'Implementation COP'

Türkiye aims to encourage collective efforts to translate decisions and commitments made at previous climate summits into concrete action and strengthen COP31 as a platform capable of delivering lasting global impact.

Accordingly, Türkiye has defined its COP31 vision as an "Implementation COP," guided by the principles of "dialogue," "consensus," and "action."