COP31 in Antalya, 91 leaders announced and traffic rearranged
· BehindLines newsroom · Updated
Less than a week before COP31 opens, scheduled for 9 to 20 November in Antalya, in southern Türkiye, two recent items clarify where preparations stand: an attendance figure announced by the host country and a traffic plan published by local authorities. The conference dates and the description of the site, by contrast, have been known for several weeks.
A figure announced by the host
According to the daily Daily Sabah, which relays the Anadolu agency in an article of 1 November, Murat Kurum, Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said the country had received confirmation from 91 heads of state and government. He also expects representatives of 196 countries, nearly 300 ministers and about 1.5 million visitors. Anadolu's Turkish dispatch is dated 31 October and reports intentions to attend according to the minister.
The same article says the minister wants to use the occasion to present the country's work on urban development, its reconstruction after the 6 February 2023 earthquakes and its institutional capacity, and to make the conference a moment for turning global commitments into concrete action. These figures come from the organiser: we found neither a named list of leaders nor independent confirmation, and the article does not explain how the 1.5 million visitors are counted.
Roads and shuttles during the summit
On 2 November, again according to Daily Sabah and Anadolu, the Antalya governor's office detailed the traffic measures planned for 10 to 12 November, the days when delegations arrive and the leaders' summit takes place. The "Leaders' Road", which links the D-400 highway to the Belek tourism road and the Land of Legends intersection, will be fully closed on 11 November from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Antalya local time), then reopened under controlled conditions once leaders and delegations have reached the venue. Arrangements will apply along about 18 kilometres of the D-400 between the airport intersection and the Belek intersection, and EXPO 2016 Boulevard will be reserved for official vehicles and shuttle buses, with one lane for emergency teams.
Free shuttles between the official hotels and the venue will run from 3 November, with a limited service at first: buses from hotel to venue between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. (local time), and returns at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. (local time). Riders must show COP31 accreditation or an acknowledgement letter. From 9 November the service will run around the clock, and the conference's official app is meant to provide an interactive map and journey planning. The report we read says nothing about schools or about security beyond these reserved lanes.
A site designed for large flows
One more element dates from September. According to the Trend agency, which on 10 September reported remarks by Ahmet Sami Kulaklıoğlu, head of support services at the Turkish ministry, at Baku Climate Action Week, the event area covers 1.5 million square metres, including about 1.1 million for the footprint of the two zones, split between the Blue Zone (about 527,000 m²) and the Green Zone (about 582,000 m²). Indoor space reaches 181,357 m², of which 39,710 permanent and 141,647 temporary. All Blue Zone entrances go through a single point and 30 accreditation and security checkpoints. A dedicated entrance for leaders, accompanied by no more than three people, leads to the summit planned for 11 and 12 November. The agency adds that the region has about 650,000 tourist beds, 300,000 of them near the site.
What is new and what is not
Only two items are recent: the figure of 91 announced participations (remarks of 31 October, published on 1 November) and the road plan (2 November). The surface areas, the calendar and the organisation of entrances come from a September announcement and may have changed since. These reports describe logistical preparations; they do not prejudge the negotiations or their outcome.