Where to find IIED and partners at COP31: event listing
The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a pivotal moment for advancing climate action. IIED researchers and partners will lead and present at several events in-person and online throughout COP31.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum, and COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago during a preparatory press conference for COP31 held in Istanbul (Photo: UNclimatechange, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
The 2026 UN climate change conference (COP31) will take place from 9 to 20 November in Antalya, Türkiye. The negotiations will focus on turning climate commitments into action, securing the scale and quality of finance needed for adaptation and resilience, and ensuring support reaches the communities most affected by climate change.
At COP31, IIED will bring local partners and decision makers together, connecting evidence and lived experience with global climate negotiations. We will champion the priorities of low-income and climate-vulnerable countries, pressing for decisions that put finance and power in the hands of those most affected. Our events and policy engagement will focus on the following priorities:
- Climate finance that reaches where it is needed most: climate finance must be accessible, equitable and responsive to community priorities. Success means increasing both the quantity and quality of finance reaching local actors and giving communities greater power over how it is allocated and used to strengthen resilience
- Turning locally led adaptation from principle into practice: locally led adaptation works when local actors have the power and resources to shape and deliver action. Governments, donors and institutions must turn their commitments into action, giving local actors greater decision-making power and funding to deliver their own adaptation priorities at scale
- Making loss-and-damage evidence central in policy and financial decisions: as climate impacts intensify, international policy and finance systems must respond to the full scale of economic and non-economic losses and damages experienced by vulnerable communities. Evidence from affected people must shape global responses
- Building inclusive, climate-resilient cities: the urban response to climate change must recognise housing as a climate issue. Informal settlements, housing rights and the realities faced by low-income urban communities must be central to planning, finance and policy. We will work with partners to build support for a stronger urban resilience agenda at COP
- Putting local knowledge, lived experience and justice at the heart of climate policy and science: climate decisions are stronger when they reflect the knowledge, priorities and experiences of those most affected. Communities, Indigenous Peoples and local actors must have greater influence over climate science, policy and finance decisions.
Supporting LDC leadership in negotiations
IIED will continue its long-standing support to the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group at COP31, working to level the playing field in international climate negotiations.
Events
Detailed information on the events involving IIED and partners at COP31 will be posted below when available, and this page will be updated regularly.
All listed times are in Antalya (GMT +3).
Week 1
10-11 November
Sustainable Innovation Forum 2026: catalysing transformative climate action at COP31
Venue: Sueno Hotels Deluxe Belek Convention & Meeting Center, Belek, Antalya
The 17th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum, the flagship event of the Climate Action Innovation Zone, will convene 150-plus speakers and more than 2,000 senior leaders from business, finance, government and civil society during the first week of COP31.
The programme will bring together influential voices from across all sectors of the economy, government, academia and multinational organisations.to advance implementation, mobilise investment, scale climate solutions and accelerate cross-sector collaboration.
IIED executive director Tom Mitchell will be a featured speaker, joining leaders including Lord Alok Sharma, Lord Adair Turner, Faustine Delasalle and Stephanie Pfeifer to help turn ambition into delivery at COP31.
Related reading: Five steps to accelerate finance for climate resilience
Thursday, 11 November
Unlocking the tripling of adaptation finance: reform, access and local delivery
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Antalya EXPO Center, Side Event Room Green
Hosted by: Talanoa Institute, Grupo de Cambio Climático para Latinoamérica y el Caribe (GFLAC), Institute Society, Population and Nature (ISPN) and IIED
At COP30, Parties agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035, but delivery remains the challenge. This event will explore how reforms to the international financial architecture and MDBs, together with independent funds, can improve the access, quality and predictability of adaptation finance.
Related reading: Reform of international financial architecture
Week 2
Wednesday 18 November
Advancing locally led adaptation at scale: aligning finance, policy and action
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Antalya EXPO Center, Side Event Room Green
Hosted by: Mercy Corps, Concern Worldwide, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Plan International (Plan), Practical Action
Speakers: Developing and developed country government championing LLA, climate fund representatives, local organisations and LLA experts
Scaling locally led adaptation (LLA) requires finance that delivers for local communities. Reflecting the growing focus on access, this event explores how governments, funders and local actors can strengthen pathways from global and national finance flows to local action, while embedding LLA across sectors and aligning with the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Thursday, 19 November
Delivering climate action through housing: financing resilient, low-carbon urban futures
Time: 11.30am-1pm
Venue: Antalya EXPO Center, Side Event Room Red
Hosted by: Build Change, government of France, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP), GlobalABC/UNEP, UN-Habitat, GCoM/Informality Working Group, WIEGO and IIED
Housing is a climate solution, a foundation for livelihoods and a development imperative. This session explores financing tools – from subsidies for existing housing to land value capture and real estate decarbonisation – that turn climate commitments into resilient, low-carbon housing worldwide.
Disaster resilient infrastructure (DRI) for adaptation: implementation framework for resilience
Time: 1.15-2.45pm
Venue: Antalya EXPO Center, Side Event Room Blue
Hosted by: Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Northeastern University
Speakers: high-level representation from governments of Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Brazil, India and Türkiye; Tom Mitchell (IIED), Nana Dwemoh Benneh, (GIIF, Ghana), Chibesa Pensulo (Commonwealth secretariat), Amit Prothi (CDRI)
DRI is a strategic climate adaptation investment generating a resilience dividend of 7-12 times; protecting economies and communities from cascading risks.
CDRI, MMA Brazil and GIIF Ghana will organise a high-level launch of a collaborative framework for integrating DRI in national adaptation strategies.
