COP31 preparations bring climate action, investment into focus

Türkiye is bringing climate finance to the center of its preparations for COP31, with public institutions, banks, international organizations, businesses, academics and civil society gathered in Istanbul to discuss how to fund the country’s green transformation.

The “Towards COP31: Climate Finance Policy Dialogue” took place at Ziraat Bank’s headquarters in the Istanbul Finance Center. The Zero Waste Foundation organized the one-day event with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and the U.N. in Türkiye.

The talks focused on expanding Türkiye’s ability to mobilize resources for climate action, bringing public and private investment closer to climate goals, and strengthening cooperation between national and international financial institutions. The zero-waste approach promoted by first lady Emine Erdoğan, founder of the Zero Waste Movement and honorary president of the Zero Waste Foundation, featured as part of a wider agenda centered on waste prevention, efficient resource use, sustainable production and consumption, and the circular economy.

At the opening, U.N. Türkiye Resident Coordinator Babatunde Ahonsi said climate finance had moved from the margins of climate discussions to the center of economic and financial policymaking. “The fundamental question is no longer whether we need to invest in climate action,” he said, arguing that the priority now is to increase the scale, speed and quality of funding needed to turn climate targets into investments and practical results.

Ahonsi described climate change as both an environmental challenge and a systemic economic and financial risk, affecting fiscal balances, debt sustainability, financial stability, infrastructure, food and energy security, businesses and livelihoods. He also pointed to major investment opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Samed Ağırbaş, president of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, said financing was the mechanism that allowed climate policies to become reality, calling for public funds, private capital, international financial institutions and new financing models to work within one integrated system.

The roundtable created six thematic working groups covering issues including financial regulation and taxonomy and green financial instruments. The source text ends while listing the groups’ areas of work.

“

The fundamental question is no longer whether we need to invest in climate action