COP31 will be held in Antalya from 9–20 November 2026, with Türkiye as host and president and Australia’s climate minister chairing the negotiations, creating a structural tension because both countries remain economically tied to coal.

Australia has cut coal’s share of domestic primary energy to 25 percent and electricity to about 42 percent while exporting roughly 85 percent of its production and accounting for a quarter of global coal exports; Türkiye, one of the ten largest coal consumers, has seen coal’s share of electricity rise to about 34 percent.

Neither country has adopted a national coal phase-out timetable, and the article notes that past COPs under fossil-fuel-linked presidencies produced mixed results on fossil-fuel language, leaving open what COP31 will achieve under similar conditions.

The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, 2026. Türkiye will host the conference and hold the presidency, while Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy will chair the negotiations.

The Conference of the Parties is the UNFCCC’s highest decision-making body, bringing countries together each year to address climate change. Those who see a move away from fossil fuels as necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C will be watching the negotiations closely.

A clear tension lies at the heart of COP31: two countries with strong economic reliance on coal are set to lead a summit intended to accelerate the global energy transition. Although a dedicated ‘coal phase-out’ session is not currently listed on the provisional agenda, coal remains an unavoidable point of debate. Consequently, the structural tension between the coal policies of host Türkiye and negotiating chair Australia, and the fundamental objectives of the conference, is........

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