Türkiye Unveils COP31 Action Agenda: Murat Kurum Outlines Ten Priority Themes

Türkiye says it has built the COP31 process on “dialogue, consensus and action.” COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Murat Kurum said the summit should go beyond a meeting where decisions are written and become one where they are put into effect. The Action Agenda prepared for COP31 is organised around ten priority themes addressing the most urgent climate and geopolitical challenges.

The themes include Clean Energy Transition and Electrification, Zero Waste and Methane Reduction, Green Industrialisation and Food Security. Six global implementation targets accompany them, including raising the global electrification share to 35% by 2035 and achieving a 50% global reduction in methane emissions from waste.

Electricity currently accounts for about 21% of global final energy consumption, and its use is growing roughly four times faster than global energy demand. About 730 million people lack access to electricity, while 2 billion rely on polluting cooking methods, linked to 3.7 million premature deaths a year. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industry is responsible for about 37% of global final energy consumption.