# Australia and Turkey share leadership of divided Cop31 talks

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/whos-who-at-cop31-key-players-at-the-climate-talks/
- Published: 2026-11-08T11:00:16+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T11:14:55+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/nov/08/cop31-key-players-climate-talks
- Topics: Climate, Elections, Geopolitics, Government, Politics, Science, World

## Key points

- Australia leads negotiations in Antalya, while Turkey sets the voluntary action agenda.
- Leaders bring competing priorities on fossil fuels, electrification and deforestation.
- China’s officials attend, though President Xi Jinping will not.

## Summary

Cop31 is being held in Antalya, Turkey, under an unusual compromise: Australia will lead the climate negotiations while Turkey controls the agenda of voluntary initiatives. The arrangement followed a bitter dispute over hosting, and the article says Australia has appeared to some to be a less engaged host than previous countries.

The talks bring together leaders with competing interests. Australian minister Chris Bowen will run negotiations while balancing support for fossil fuels with the shift to clean energy; Turkey’s environment minister Murat Kurum oversees the action agenda, including a focus on recycling. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva is bringing non-binding plans to move away from fossil fuels and halt deforestation, while China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, will be represented by officials rather than President Xi Jinping. The International Energy Agency’s Fatih Birol is associated with the summit’s emphasis on electrification.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.