Five weeks from now, the world's most consequential annual climate negotiation opens — under an arrangement that's never been tried before.
Where and when
COP31 — the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference — will be held at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, 2026.
The unusual part: a genuinely split presidency
Türkiye holds the formal COP31 presidency, with Murat Kurum, Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, presiding over the conference. But in a first-of-its-kind arrangement, Australia leads the negotiations track separately — including a Pacific-hosted pre-COP session ahead of the main conference. Splitting the ceremonial/formal presidency from the substantive negotiations leadership hasn't been done at this scale before, and how the two roles coordinate (or don't) is itself something delegations and observers will be watching closely.
Why the pre-COP period matters more than the conference itself
For businesses and organisations with genuine stakes in the outcome, the weeks before COP31 opens are often more consequential than the conference itself — this is when negotiating text gets drafted, national positions get locked in, and the agenda that will actually be debated in Antalya takes shape. By the time COP31 formally opens on November 9, much of what's negotiable will already be significantly constrained by decisions made during this pre-COP window — which is exactly the period we're in right now.
What's likely on the agenda
While the detailed agenda is still being shaped through the pre-COP process, conferences at this stage typically center on climate finance commitments, carbon market mechanisms, and national emissions-reduction target updates — the recurring structural themes of recent COPs, now filtered through whatever specific priorities the Turkish-Australian leadership arrangement emphasises.
What businesses should actually do now
Organisations with climate-disclosure obligations, carbon-market exposure, or supply-chain emissions reporting requirements shouldn't wait for the conference itself to start paying attention. The pre-COP negotiating period — active right now, in September and October 2026 — is when sustainability and government-affairs teams should be reviewing draft negotiating text and industry position papers, since the text that emerges from Antalya will often simply ratify decisions substantially locked in before delegates ever arrive.
Sources: E3G · Wikipedia — 2026 UN Climate Change Conference · COP31 Official