COP31 President-Designate and Türkiye’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, Murat Kurum, has called for a decisive shift from climate pledges to implementation, stressing that the world needs concrete action rather than another round of promises.
Speaking at a press conference during the United Nations June Climate Meetings (SB64) in Bonn on Tuesday, Kurum said the Earth is passing through one of the most critical periods in its history due to the escalating climate crisis.
“At such a defining moment for the world, the time for simply setting out goals is behind us. The task before us now is to accelerate implementation,” he said while unveiling the priorities of the COP31 Action Agenda.
Kurum said the agenda focuses on key areas including electrification, zero waste, food security, resilient cities, green industrialization, youth participation, health and education. He described these priorities not as separate agenda items but as a framework designed to deliver tangible results.
As part of the COP31 roadmap, Türkiye has set a series of measurable targets for 2035. These include increasing the global electrification rate to 35 percent to accelerate the clean energy transition, placing zero waste and methane reduction at the center of climate action, and reducing energy intensity in the buildings sector by 25 percent to make cities more resilient and energy efficient.
The minister also highlighted plans to promote green industrialization and strengthen the circular economy by increasing the global circular material use rate to at least 15 percent.
Emphasizing the role of young people in climate action, Kurum said efforts would be made to ensure climate education reaches every young person worldwide, while climate-resilient agricultural training would be provided to young farmers to support global food security.
He further announced the launch of the Climate Implementation Bridge, an initiative aimed at helping countries transform their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into investable project portfolios and enabling climate finance to reach communities more quickly and effectively.
“Because what the world needs today is not another round of promises. It needs to see existing commitments delivered,” Kurum said.
He noted that COP31 would focus on translating existing climate agreements into action rather than creating new commitments. The conference, he said, seeks to make climate action visible beyond negotiating rooms and into cities, industries, energy systems and everyday life.
Acknowledging that no country can tackle climate change alone, Kurum emphasized that COP31 would be built on dialogue, consensus and action, with the goal of deepening international cooperation, scaling up successful practices and accelerating climate investments.
“Climate change is a global challenge that does not stop at borders. The answer must be built on shared responsibility, strong cooperation and determined implementation,” he said.
Kurum added that dialogue would continue in Bonn and broader consensus would be pursued in Antalya as preparations advance for COP31, with the ultimate aim of turning climate commitments into measurable results.
