By Abbas Nazil
Delegates attending the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, have been warned of further transport disruptions as heads of state and government gather for a two-day leaders’ summit expected to focus on climate finance, renewable energy, emissions reduction and adaptation.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat issued the warning ahead of the high-level meeting scheduled for November 11 and 12, announcing additional security arrangements and alternative transport routes around the conference venue.
The summit, themed “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future”, will be opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to address participating leaders.
According to the UNFCCC programme, national statements will be delivered by participating leaders over the two days, with the summit scheduled to conclude at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
In a notice circulated to participants on Tuesday, the secretariat explained that shuttle buses would operate on alternative routes to avoid roads reserved for the movement of world leaders, although delays were expected.
It advised delegates to minimise movement during the affected hours, particularly between 8:30 a.m. and noon, when nine shuttle services connecting Belek, a resort area accommodating many conference participants, would operate at significantly reduced capacity.
The secretariat also announced an increase in the number of buses departing Belek before 8:30 a.m. to reduce congestion and encouraged delegates to make their journeys earlier.
Taxis and other vehicles without authorised access passes will not be permitted to park close to the conference venue, while normal traffic operations are expected to resume in the afternoon.
The warning follows widespread complaints about transportation and accreditation difficulties during the opening days of COP31, with some participants reportedly spending more than five hours collecting their accreditation badges on Monday.
Journeys that would ordinarily take approximately 50 minutes also reportedly lasted as long as three hours, raising concerns about access and movement around the conference facilities.
Beyond the logistical challenges, the leaders’ summit comes amid growing calls for governments to translate climate commitments into measurable actions, particularly on financing vulnerable countries, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating the transition towards renewable energy.
Guterres had urged world leaders to accelerate emissions reductions, advance the transition away from fossil fuels and provide adequate climate finance and protection for countries facing the greatest impacts of climate change.
Similarly, UN climate chief Simon Stiell identified increased adaptation financing, improved access to climate funds, the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and methane emissions reduction as major priorities for COP31.
One of the four roundtables organised by the Turkish presidency will examine climate finance and implementation during the second decade of the Paris Agreement.
The discussions follow disagreements among African negotiators and other participating countries over a proposed separate agenda item on tripling adaptation finance, which COP31 President Murat Kurum ruled could be addressed under existing agenda items after parties failed to reach consensus.
Other discussions will examine a proposal to increase electricity’s share of global energy demand to 35 per cent by 2035, alongside green industrial development, investment, employment opportunities, urban resilience and adaptation.
Methane emissions will also feature in a separate leaders’ meeting scheduled for Thursday, focusing on greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide.
The programme further includes discussions on forests, zero waste, early warning systems, electricity grids and mountain regions.
African climate priorities are expected to receive attention through a leaders’ roundtable on clean cooking in Africa and a high-level dialogue examining African leadership in climate action, both scheduled for Thursday.
According to the UNFCCC’s list of speakers published on November 8, leaders from 70 countries are expected to deliver national statements in person, including representatives from 21 African countries such as Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Algeria.
Nigeria, however, is absent from the current list of countries scheduled to deliver statements during the two-day summit, although countries whose leaders do not speak this week will have another opportunity when the high-level segment resumes on November 17 and 18.
COP31, which runs from November 9 to 20, has brought together government representatives, climate negotiators, scientists, civil society organisations, businesses and other stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation and advance responses to the global climate crisis.
