COP31 opens in Antalya today, Monday 9 November 2026, and the Turkish presidency has given every one of its twelve days a theme of its own. From food, agriculture and health on day one to final negotiations on 20 November, the COP31 events calendar sets the rhythm for two weeks of talks at the Antalya Expo Center — with a leaders’ summit, a science week and a public Green Zone in between.
Key facts
- COP31 runs 9–20 November 2026 at the Antalya Expo Center, Türkiye.
- Nearly 200 countries are taking part. The conference theme is “COP of the Future – COP of Implementation”, built on three pillars: dialogue, consensus and action.
- Opening plenary: Monday 9 November, livestreamed from 11:00 Antalya time, according to the UNFCCC.
- World Leaders’ Summit: 11–12 November 2026.
- The venue has two zones: the accredited Blue Zone for negotiations and the public Green Zone, with free registration.
- Each thematic day brings ministerial roundtables, expert panels, business forums, partnership announcements, technical workshops and youth dialogues.
Day one: food, agriculture and health
The first day belongs to food, agriculture and health — the theme the presidency chose to open the conference. The formal opening plenary takes place this morning, with UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell due to deliver a major speech and IPCC Chair Jim Skea addressing the plenary. COP31 opens in Antalya today with the formal work of the conference beginning alongside the celebrations.
Health runs through the whole day. The World Health Organization is organising expert panels from 10:00 to 14:00 in Perge Hall and a ministerial roundtable from 15:00 to 18:30 in Likya Hall, with the launch of the Antalya Initiative for Health Resilience. Health Day at COP31 brings more than 60 events to the Health Pavilion across the two weeks.
Food and farming get their own stage too. The Food and Agriculture Organization is co-hosting the Food and Agriculture Pavilion, and its COP31 Youth Dialogue on Agriculture runs from 17:00 to 18:30 in Meeting Hall 4 of the Blue Zone. The Africa Pavilion officially opens at 13:00, and the multilateral development banks open their joint programme at the MDB Pavilion at 14:00. Parliamentarians hold their first daily briefing at 10:00, and Antalya Bilim University hosts a Youth and Intergenerational Dialogue on Energy Transition from 10:00 to 13:30, organised with UNIDO, SDSN and CEET.
The COP31 events calendar: twelve days at a glance
The presidency has published the full programme of thematic days. Each day has a theme and a set of sub-themes that shape the panels, roundtables and partnership events held that day.
| Date | Theme | In focus |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov | Food, Agriculture and Health | Food security, irrigation and water efficiency, food systems, climate and health |
| Tue 10 Nov | Energy and Transport | Energy security, electrification, grid infrastructure, sustainable transport |
| Wed 11 Nov | Zero Waste — Leaders Summit, day 1 | Zero waste, resource efficiency, methane, circular economy |
| Thu 12 Nov | Resilient Cities and Built Environment — Leaders Summit, day 2 | Climate-friendly buildings, urban resilience, smart cities, nature-based solutions |
| Fri 13 Nov | Finance and Trade | Green finance, climate investment, value chains, carbon markets |
| Sat 14 Nov | Children, Youth, Education and Skills | Climate literacy, green skills, curriculum development, lifelong learning |
| Sun 15 Nov | A Breath in Antalya | Social and cultural programmes |
| Mon 16 Nov | Science, Industry and Technology | Green industrialisation, technology and innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence |
| Tue 17 Nov | Ocean, Seas, Nature and Land Use — Rio Synergy | Oceans, coastal resilience, blue economy, biodiversity, forest restoration |
| Wed 18 Nov | Human, Social Development and Gender | Tourism, cultural heritage, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, just transition |
| Thu 19 Nov | İmece: Enhancing Implementation | Capacity building, investment-ready projects, access to finance |
| Fri 20 Nov | Final Negotiations | The closing decisions of the conference |
Leaders take the stage on 11 and 12 November
The busiest days for Antalya will be Wednesday and Thursday, when the World Leaders Climate Action Summit brings heads of state and government together. The High-Level Segment hears national statements from leaders on both days, and 77 leaders are listed to speak, according to the UNFCCC speakers’ list. China has confirmed that Vice-President Han Zheng will attend.
The summit’s roundtables will focus on resilient cities, climate finance, decarbonisation, the circular economy and Blue Climate Action. Special programmes under the leadership of Emine Erdoğan will highlight global sustainability initiatives, including the Zero Waste movement and circular economy solutions.
Science shapes the second week
Science takes centre stage in the second week. The IPCC will take part in more than fifty events at COP31. Its Chair, Jim Skea, will deliver keynote remarks at the presidency event on Science, Solutions, and Keeping 1.5°C within reach on 13 November, and will address the presidency event launching the second Global Stocktake on 18 November. IPCC Secretary Annett Möhner will update the opening session of the subsidiary bodies on the progress of the IPCC’s work.
The Food and Agriculture Organization has a full diary of its own. On 10 November it joins the launch of the Turquoise Nexus Initiative at a ministerial roundtable on food systems, climate-resilient agriculture finance and the food–water–climate nexus, from 15:00 to 17:00. On 11 November it co-hosts a side event with the IPCC, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development on scaling climate finance for resilient agrifood systems facing extreme heat and El Niño-related shocks. Further events follow: a ministerial meeting of the FAST Partnership on 13 November, the launch of the Peatland Breakthrough on 14 November, and a session on technology for integrated fire management and wildfire resilience on 16 November.
The ocean day on 17 November carries its own weight. Climate Change News reports that a bloc of more than 100 countries has pushed for a plan on ocean measures at COP31, as record heat affects the seas.
Beyond the negotiating rooms
Not everything happens in the Blue Zone. The Green Zone is open to the public with free registration, hosting exhibitions, panels, workshops and concerts, including the COPArt art exhibition that turns the whole campus into a gallery. The COP31 Youth Climate Forum and the Climate Business & Innovation Forum bring young leaders, entrepreneurs and investors together around new solutions.
Parliamentarians have their own programme too. GLOBE Legislators, the UNFCCC focal point for parliamentarians, is holding daily briefings throughout the conference, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union holds its Parliamentary Meeting on 16 November at the Ethno Belek Hotel in Antalya, together with the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
What to watch next
After today’s opening, attention turns to the Leaders’ Summit on Wednesday and Thursday, then to finance on Friday and children and youth on Saturday. The second week brings science, oceans and implementation to the fore before the final negotiations on Friday 20 November. The presidency notes that the detailed session programme will be published in due course, so the daily schedule will keep filling in as the conference goes on.
