Currently in London for the event, COP31 President-Designate and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum addressed the Climate Innovation Forum.

22 June 2026

Currently in London for the event, COP31 President-Designate and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum addressed the Climate Innovation Forum.

Stating that the core priorities for COP31 focus on electrification, waste management, resilient cities, education, and finance, Minister Kurum underscored the urgent need to accelerate electrification, adding: “As the COP31 Presidency, we aim to initiate a global dialogue on electrification. We intend to shape this discussion around the target of sourcing 35 percent of final energy consumption from electricity by 2035.
The '35 by 2035' target will be realized by accelerating electrification across transportation, buildings, and industry.”

Minister Kurum attended the Climate Innovation Forum on the opening day of the events, which brought together former COP presidents, representatives from various international organizations, as well as leaders and ministers from 25 countries. During the forum, Minister Kurum briefed participants on the COP31 Action Agenda and its overarching framework. Speaking at the forum on the first day of his intensive schedule at London Climate Action Week, where he was accompanied by Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar, Minister Kurum made the following remarks:

“WE ARE FACING THE THREAT OF A SUPER EL NIÑO”

Drawing attention to the destructive scale of the climate crisis, Minister Kurum said, “Today, we gather at a time when humanity is facing severe trials across multiple fronts. The economic toll of recent conflicts continues to reverberate through the global economy. Debt burdens are steadily mounting. On top of all this, we are now confronted with the threat of a super El Niño. Research indicates that El Niño events can incur costs of approximately 5 trillion dollars. This year could go down as the costliest El Niño year on record. Furthermore, this estimate does not yet account for the heaviest price of all—the loss of human lives. Meanwhile, our collective resolve to act together is also being severely tested.”

“WE BELIEVE WE CAN CHANGE THIS TRAJECTORY IN ANTALYA IN NOVEMBER”

Underscoring the need for collective action to resolve these crises, Minister Kurum said, “We believe we can change this trajectory in Antalya this November. We want to demonstrate our shared commitment clearly and decisively. Our goal is to achieve outcomes that will touch people's lives across the globe and ensure everyone tangibly feels the value of their participation. The engagements we will hold in London this week represent a critical milestone in our efforts to generate solutions and build momentum.”

“WE AIM TO INITIATE A GLOBAL DIALOGUE ON ELECTRIFICATION”

Noting that ‘electrification’ stands out as a core pillar of the COP31 Action Agenda across all their meetings to date, Minister Kurum emphasized that accelerating electrification is essential to shield countries, corporations, and households from volatile energy prices. Stressing that they place particular weight on this issue throughout the COP31 process, Minister Kurum added, “As the COP31 Presidency, we aim to initiate a global dialogue on electrification. We intend to shape this discussion around the target of sourcing 35 percent of final energy consumption from electricity by 2035. The '35 by 2035' target will be realized by accelerating electrification across transportation, buildings, and industry. The success of this goal depends heavily on its reinforcement through modern grids and robust infrastructure investments. We are highly pleased to see this transition already being embraced by numerous countries, international organizations, and voluntary coalitions. The International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the Global Renewables Alliance are among the organizations demonstrating this support.”

“SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE”

Minister Kurum highlighted two critical pillars necessary to ensure success at COP31 under the '35 by 2035' target: “First, as established by the first Global Stocktake adopted at COP28 in Dubai, we must meet the rising demand for electricity through an increase in clean energy supply. This is because a secure and sustainable energy future relies on the simultaneous advancement of electrification and renewable energy. Second, we must strengthen the enabling conditions that will accelerate progress and allow us to reach this target. In this context, support provided to the developing world is of paramount importance. In 2024, countries reached a common consensus under the Baku Finance Goal to mobilize 300 billion dollars in climate finance annually until 2035. Yet, last year witnessed the largest annual decline on record for official development assistance. The success of this transition depends on ensuring that developing countries can access the finance they need to implement our shared goals. As the COP31 Presidency, we will work resolutely to keep this issue at the top of the international agenda. We call upon all donor countries to fulfill their past commitments.”

“THE ZERO WASTE INITIATIVE WILL SET A GLOBAL EXAMPLE FOR METHANE REDUCTION TARGETS”

Stating that alongside electrification, another core pillar of the Action Agenda is "waste management," Minister Kurum said, “Under the leadership of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the Zero Waste Movement and the methane reduction initiative have been launched as a global priority. Reducing methane gas originating from landfills presents one of the fastest and most viable opportunities to slow global warming. The waste sector is responsible for approximately 20 percent of human-induced methane emissions. Today, we possess proven and scalable solutions at our disposal. Consequently, we have put forward a global target aiming to slash the growth of waste generation by half by 2035.”

“TÜRKIYE POSSESSES EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF RESILIENT CITIES”

Under the "Resilient Cities" pillar, which constitutes another priority area of the Action Agenda, Minister Kurum cited the Century’s Construction Mobilization carried out in the earthquake zone as an example: “Türkiye possesses truly extensive experience in this field. This experience is fueled by the reconstruction efforts we have carried out following the Disaster of the Century in 2023. Under the leadership of our President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we completed 455,000 housing units across 11 provinces within 2 years and delivered them to our earthquake-stricken citizens. We ensured that these homes meet the highest standards of energy efficiency. While constructing earthquake-resilient cities on one hand, we demonstrated a decisive step toward our country's Net Zero Emissions goal on the other. By doing so, we reduced energy consumption by 39 percent. This outcome is of critical importance in terms of shielding families against soaring energy prices. Today, energy efficiency is recognized as one of the most fundamental elements of the energy transition. With this understanding, we aim to address a target at COP31 directed at reducing energy consumption intensity in the building sector by at least 25 percent by 2035.”

“GREEN INDUSTRIALIZATION AND THE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION BRIDGE”

Emphasizing that they also aim to drive progress in the area of "green industrialization," Minister Kurum noted that electrification will be a vital component of this process.
“In addition, we intend to discuss potential pathways to increase the utilization rate of recycled materials in the production and manufacturing sectors to at least 15 percent by 2035,” Minister Kurum added.
Reminding that they will launch a new initiative titled the 'Climate Implementation Bridge,' Minister Kurum stated, “This initiative will strengthen the alignment between climate targets and economic development policies, particularly in developing and least developed nations.”

“WE AIM FOR THE INCLUSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN SCHOOL CURRICULA”

Minister Kurum also underlined that awareness and widespread climate literacy are indispensable to sustaining public support for climate action: “This is of immense importance for enabling people to make the most accurate choices both for themselves and for a climate-resilient future. For this reason, we aim to ensure the inclusion of climate change in school curricula across many more countries by 2030.”

“IF WE WANT MOMENTUM, WE NEED ACTION”

Indicating that they have launched the COP31 Business Forum in partnership with TOBB, Minister Kurum said, “This Forum will serve as a year-round platform to mobilize business engagement for the Business Summit, which will be held in Antalya on November 12-13 as part of COP.” Minister Kurum concluded his speech with a call to action: “This week, we possess a significant opportunity to drive progress. As the COP31 Presidency, we have clearly laid out our core priorities: electrification, waste management, resilient cities, education, and finance. We would like to extend a call to the world. Let us work together on these priorities that will shape the future of our planet. Let each of us courageously determine the areas where we can contribute for the future of our children. When we arrive at COP, let us showcase to the entire world what we have accomplished, how we have supported this process, our strong cooperation, and our vision. Because if we want momentum, we need action—we need global action. This is precisely how we can bring to life the COP of the future and an implementation-oriented COP.”

Climate Innovation Forum Co-Chairs Solitaire Townsend and Mark Barton, Founder and Chair of London Climate Action Week Nick Mabey, UK Government Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Yvette Cooper, UK Government Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Action Selwin Hart, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, and Deputy Executive Director for Australia's President of Negotiations David Higgins were also in attendance at the event.