COP31 Action Agenda Sets 2035 Targets: 35% Electrification, Halving Waste Growth

With three weeks to go before COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, the summit’s presidency has put hard numbers on the table: the COP31 Action Agenda sets six global implementation targets for 2035, including raising electricity’s share of global energy demand to 35 percent and cutting projected growth in municipal solid waste by half.

Unveiled by COP31 President and Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum at a United Nations event in New York and detailed in the presidency’s “Road to Antalya” letters, the agenda is built on ten priority themes and carries the banner “Driving Implementation Through Cooperation and Collective Action”. The message is deliberate: this summit is to be judged on delivery, not on new pledges.

The six COP31 Action Agenda 2035 targets

The presidency says the targets, if met, could cut global emissions by 8.5 to 10 gigatons of CO2 by 2035. They are:

• Electrification: raise the global electrification rate — electricity’s share of final energy demand — to 35 percent by 2035.
• Zero waste and methane reduction: reduce the projected increase in municipal solid-waste generation by 50 percent by 2035, tackling methane from waste.
• Resilient cities and buildings: cut energy-use intensity in the building sector by at least 25 percent by 2035.
• Green industrialization: raise the use of circular materials in manufacturing and production to at least 15 percent by 2035.
• Climate-resilient agriculture and education: ensure climate-resilient farming practices and climate-change education reach all segments of society by 2035.
• Climate Implementation Bridge: expand the mechanism that connects national climate plans (NDCs) with investment, financing and execution.

Ten themes, one direction: implementation

Beyond the headline numbers, the Action Agenda covers ten themes: clean energy and electrification, zero waste and methane reduction, climate-resilient cities, green industrialization, youth and education, food security, oceans, health systems, biodiversity and land-use synergies, and the implementation of national climate plans.

“For us, implementation is not simply announcing more commitments, but turning existing commitments into measurable results on the ground,” Kurum said at the UN presentation, adding that the presidency would work to bring technology, investment and real needs together. The agenda also includes a Green Industrialisation Facilitation Mechanism for the least-developed countries (LDC-GIF), designed to connect their industrialization needs with technology, expertise and financing.

Thematic days: Zero Waste takes the Leaders’ stage

Each conference day carries a theme. Notably, 11 November — day one of the World Leaders Summit — is dedicated to Zero Waste, followed on 12 November by Resilient Cities and the Built Environment. Other days cover food, agriculture and health (9 November), energy and transport (10 November), finance and trade (13 November), children, youth, education and skills (14 November), science, industry and technology (16 November) and oceans, seas, nature and land use with a Rio-conventions synergy focus (17 November).

The road to Antalya: consensus and a finance fault line

Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz, told a UN General Assembly event on 16 October — “A Planet Fit for the Future: Restoring Trust through Climate Action” — that Türkiye would run the presidency in a “transparent, consultative and predictable” manner and called on countries to ensure high-level participation. Under the Türkiye–Australia partnership, Murat Kurum holds the COP31 presidency while Australia’s Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen presides over the formal negotiations.

The EU, for its part, adopted its COP31 mandate on 12 October, with ministers calling for a “step-change” in the delivery of the Paris Agreement. But according to reporting on the bloc’s internal negotiating document, there is “no scope” for new EU climate-finance pledges at the summit — a position likely to be contested by developing countries. Finance, adaptation and loss and damage therefore remain the fault lines to watch when negotiators land in Antalya on 9 November.

For more on the summit preparations, see Watan News’ COP31 coverage.

Conclusion

The Action Agenda gives COP31 something measurable to be judged against: 35 percent electrification, halved waste growth, and a quarter less energy intensity in buildings by 2035. Whether the “Implementation COP” lives up to its name will be decided in Antalya — and in the national policies that follow.