Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar addressed the meeting titled “Sustainability Agenda - Recent Developments,” organized by SDSN Türkiye.
23 December 2025
Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar addressed the meeting titled “Sustainability Agenda - Recent Developments,” organized by SDSN Türkiye. Speaking at the meeting organized by SDSN Türkiye—an organization established at Boğaziçi University that brings together a wide network of member institutions, primarily universities, under the heading of “Sustainable Development Solutions”—Director Hasar shared Türkiye’s perspectives on the fight against the climate crisis, the COP31 process, and Türkiye’s COP31 vision. Director Hasar noted that Türkiye continues to practice peace diplomacy by bringing together parties even in some of the world’s most conflict-affected regions, adding that COP31 will enable Türkiye to advance climate diplomacy at the global level.
Emphasizing that Türkiye now actively implements climate policies and translates its vision of a more livable world for future generations into action, Director Hasar highlighted the following points:
“We have achieved a historic diplomatic success”
Türkiye will host a Conference of the Parties (COP)—one of the most important multilateral platforms under the United Nations framework for combating climate change—for the first time. This represents a great source of pride for us all. Türkiye secured the hosting and presidency of COP31 through firm, determined, and demanding negotiations, marking a major diplomatic achievement. In this respect, we have achieved a historic diplomatic success,” he said.
Drawing attention to the negotiation processes that enabled Türkiye to assume the COP presidency and hosting role, Director Hasar added: “I would like to express my gratitude to our Minister, Mr. Murat Kurum, who personally led us throughout the negotiations, took part directly in the process, and introduced innovative solutions whenever the talks reached an impasse through his resolute stance. I would like to take this opportunity to, once again, thank Minister Kurum for his extensive efforts in securing Türkiye’s COP presidency and hosting role. Türkiye has undertaken the presidency and hosting of COP31 with the vision of “a more just and inclusive diplomacy in which no country is left behind. This historic responsibility holds profound significance for our country."
“COP31 has the potential to transform Türkiye from a regional actor into a global climate leader”
COP31 represents far more than a climate conference. It offers Türkiye a historic opportunity to position itself as a rising center of gravity in global diplomacy, economics, technology, and climate diplomacy. In 2026, Türkiye will stand at the very heart of the platform where global climate policies take shape. COP31 has the potential to transform Türkiye from a regional actor into a global climate leader. At the same time, COP31 will serve as a powerful catalyst for Türkiye’s green transition. COP31 will also provide an important platform through which Türkiye can share its cultural richness with the global community.
Türkiye’s COP31 Vision
Türkiye aims to build a strong bridge between developed and developing countries. Within this framework, our country prioritizes accelerating green and digital transition in the energy and industrial sectors, creating new platforms for international cooperation that strengthen technology transfer, finance, and capacity building, and deepening North–South cooperation to amplify the contribution of digitalization to climate action. The Mediterranean’s high vulnerability to climate risks serves as a critical reference point for Türkiye.
Türkiye aims to share this experience with other vulnerable regions such as the Pacific and Africa in order to strengthen climate risk management, enhance resilience capacity, and reinforce international solidarity. Türkiye also seeks to shape the cities of the future into climate-friendly, resilient, and adaptive environments. In this regard, Türkiye’s core priorities include developing models that increase urban climate resilience, strengthening the financing of urban transformation efforts needed worldwide, and promoting climate-friendly urban planning at the global level.
COP31 Preparations
Türkiye began its preparations without delay to host one of the world’s largest and most inclusive diplomatic gatherings. Türkiye will hold COP31 in Antalya on 9-20 November 2026. Around 200 countries are expected to participate. The total number of participants is projected to reach 150,000. More than 100 heads of state and high-level representatives are expected to attend the summit.
Members of SDSN Türkiye, academics from various universities, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and numerous invited guests attended the meeting, where Türkiye’s climate policies were also discussed.