The preparatory meeting for the Local Governments’ Position Paper for the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held online with more than 80 participants.
The meeting brought together senior officials and experts from local and regional government associations across Europe, as well as representatives of municipalities and regional associations from Türkiye, to discuss the scope, content and overall framework of the position paper.
The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Şengül Altan Arslan, Deputy Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of Turkiye (UMT). Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yahya Can Dura, Director of Foreign Relations at UMT, presented the framework of the position paper and the meeting methodology, and delivered the closing remarks.
Discussions were conducted in two parallel thematic breakout sessions titled “Financing Local Climate Action and Implementation Capacity” and “Multilevel Climate Governance and Local Government Participation in Decision-Making Processes.”
The sessions were moderated by Dr. Nihan Yegin Yarayan and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Başak Özarslan.
Key findings, priorities and policy recommendations emerging from the discussions will be compiled and incorporated into the COP31 Position Paper.
The document aims to establish a unified voice for local governments ahead of COP31, scheduled to take place in Antalya in November 2026.