Antalya is about to swap beach-season crowds for climate diplomats. The Mediterranean city hosts COP31 this November, and for the first time in the history of the U.N. climate process, zero waste will be formally on the agenda.
The push comes from Türkiye's Zero Waste Initiative, launched nearly a decade ago under first lady Emine Erdoğan and since grown into a global brand. Halil Hasar, president of the Climate Change Directorate at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, told Anadolu Agency that zero waste's contribution to emissions cuts will now be debated on a world stage. A key focus: methane from organic waste. Talks will look at capturing that methane before it escapes and turning it into usable energy, alongside reusing secondary raw materials in industrial processes.
What else is on the table? Hasar said more than 60 decisions will be addressed across the two-week summit. The first week belongs to technical delegations; ministers arrive in week two to hammer out consensus. Big-ticket items include adaptation finance, the mitigation work program and a "fair transition" mechanism — which Hasar hopes will become one of COP31's lasting legacies. The loss and damage fund is also expected to feature prominently, with contributions to developing countries so far falling short of what's needed.
Another headline item is a global electrification target of 35% by 2035, an initiative backed by Türkiye as host. Hasar stressed it's a worldwide figure, not a per-country quota, aimed at lifting communities that still have no access to electricity at all.
Türkiye has branded COP31 an "Implementation COP." The logic: the Paris Agreement is entering its second decade, and the era of making pledges is over. Hasar argues that delivery now hinges on two things — finance and technology — and that strong decisions on both would matter well beyond the summit itself.
For travellers, why care? If you're heading to Antalya in November, expect a busy city: hotel occupancy spikes, security perimeters around the venue and higher prices during the conference weeks. Book early or time your trip for late autumn shoulder season, when the weather is still mild and the crowds thinner. And with zero waste entering the global climate conversation, the sustainability practices you encounter at Turkish hotels — from refillable amenities to food-waste programs — are likely to keep expanding.
Who is this for? Anyone planning a trip to Antalya around the summit, travellers tracking how climate policy will reshape tourism, and anyone curious how waste reduction is finally being treated as a climate solution, not just a tidiness campaign. — Daily Sabah Travel