Int’l climate cooperation ‘antidote to chaos,’ says top UN official at Istanbul talks
Berfin Yortaç- ISTANBUL
Climate action can act as a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile world, the U.N.’s top climate official said on Feb. 12, as Istanbul hosted the first strategic planning meeting ahead of the COP31 summit, which Türkiye will host in the Mediterranean city of Antalya.
Speaking at a press conference, U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell warned that geopolitical fragmentation, trade tensions and growing insecurity are testing the foundations of global cooperation, but argued that coordinated climate policies can counter those pressures rather than deepen them.
“Climate action can deliver stability in an unstable world,” he said, stressing that cooperation on emissions cuts, clean energy and adaptation is “an antidote to the chaos and coercion of this moment.”
“It becomes the not-so-secret weapon we need to deliver security and prosperity.”
The meeting hosted by Turkish Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum marked the first high-level strategy session for COP31, where negotiators aim to shift from pledges to implementation of existing climate targets.
Officials said discussions focused on financing, project pipelines and mechanisms to accelerate the global energy transition before the summit convenes in Antalya in November.
Stiell emphasized that the world has entered what he described as a “third era” of climate action — one defined not by debate or negotiation but by execution.
Without singling out specific nations, he made the appeal as climate priorities increasingly compete with governments’ focus on security and economic performance worldwide. The remarks come as U.S. President Donald Trump promotes fossil fuels and has taken steps to withdraw the United States from the United Nations’ central climate accord, following his earlier decision to exit the 2015 Paris Agreement on limiting global warming.
Stiell also underscored the economic stakes, warning that governments stepping back from climate leadership would effectively hand investment, jobs and technological advantage to rival economies.
‘Türkiye natural hub for climate dialogue’
For his part, the Turkish climate change minister Kurum portrayed climate policy as both an environmental necessity and an economic opportunity.
He said countries that delay action risk falling behind in emerging industries, adding that climate change has evolved into “a matter of existence, not just an environmental issue.”
Kurum also highlighted Türkiye’s geographic and diplomatic position, calling the country “a natural center” for global climate dialogue.
The minister said Ankara and Canberra would jointly unveil a “robust” COP31 action agenda in March, as Australia will also preside over the negotiations under a compromise reached late last year that resolved a dispute over the summit’s venue.