COP31 hosted by Türkiye discussed at Rome panel

A panel titled “COP31 on the Road: Rethinking Sustainability from an Interdisciplinary Perspective” was held in Rome on 19 October 2026. Hosted by the Yunus Emre Institute's Turkish Cultural Centre in Rome, it was organised with the Italy-based CeSPI think tank and ISCASS. Türkiye will host the 31st UN climate conference (COP31) in Antalya in November.

Turkish Ambassador Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen said Türkiye would focus at COP31 on dialogue, consensus and implementation, and expressed hope that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would visit Antalya. Italian Foreign Ministry official Federico Ciattaglia said the Covid-19 pandemic and later tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East had overshadowed climate change.

Prof. Dr. Şefika Şule Erçetin called for education to be added to the COP31 agenda, while Ali Haydar Ustaosmanoğlu said young people are stakeholders of today, not only of the future.