Media Contacts
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Tom Jennings (Europe)
Email: tom.jennings@tnc.org -
Ann Kaiser (U.S.)
Email: ann.kaiser@tnc.org
As policy eyes pivot from UN Biodiversity Conference CBD-COP17 in Armenia, to UN Climate Change Conference UNFCCC-COP31—co-hosted in Antalya by the governments of Australia and Türkiye—The Nature Conservancy’s global climate lead Clare Shakya considers what’s at stake from this final major policy moment of 2026.
Antalya arrives at a precarious moment, the urgency of which could hardly be clearer. In the last year, evidence suggests we’ve breached the ‘safe’ +1.5°C warming limit, reached record levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, experienced a record-shattering northern summer, catastrophic flash floods in Nepal, raging wildfires in Europe and now we’re bracing for a supercharged El Niño. Fast-tracking investment in nature-based adaptation and resilience is more urgent than ever.
After the symbolism of last year’s Amazon COP, the test for COP31 is whether it can turn promises into progress. Fraying public finances and political shifts signal growing headwinds for climate action. But stepping back now would only compound the costs and risks ahead.
Instead, the challenge is to accelerate the clean energy transition, mobilize climate finance at far greater scale and ensure it reaches those who need it most. As calls grow to boost defense spending, we must recognize that climate adaptation, energy security and resilient food/freshwater systems are also fundamental to a safer world. We need to deploy every credible tool available: from high-integrity carbon markets to nature-based solutions that keep forests standing, reduce land conversion and restore climate-critical landscapes like mangroves and peatlands.
We have breached +1.5°C – now our leaders must choose whether that breach becomes permanent or temporary. After the emotion of Belém, Antalya is not the time to trade ambition for fatalism. Every fraction of a degree matters, and we need all available solutions to bend the curve back below +1.5°C as quickly as possible. At a perilous moment, the task facing COP31 is to accelerate progress, not manage decline.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 86 countries and territories (41 by direct conservation impact and 45 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. For more news, visit our newsroom or follow The Nature Conservancy on LinkedIn.