COP31 Host Urges NATO Nations to Spend More on Climate Than Defense

OilPrice.com · Felicity Bradstock · 2026-10-25 15:00 UTC

Turkey is urging wealthy nations to prioritize climate spending over defense ahead of COP31, even as its continued fossil fuel expansion raises questions about its climate commitments.

The host of the United Nations’ COP31 climate summit, Turkey, is encouraging wealthy countries participating in the conference to spend more on climate support than on defence. This follows Turkey’s announcement in September that it plans to invest heavily in developing its renewable energy capacity in the coming years. However, Turkey also intends to expand its oil and gas production, which could be at odds with its climate aims.

COP31 will be held in the southern Turkish province of Antalya from 9th – 20th November with a first-of-its-kind joint presidency arrangement between Türkiye and Australia. The summit brings together government, business, and civil society representatives from around the world to discuss how the various world powers can best work together to tackle climate change.

For the first time, Turkey and Australia held a “pre-summit” in the Fijian city of Nadi in the South Pacific from 5th – 8th October to draw attention to the climate challenges being faced by island nations. However, only 13 national leaders attended the summit alongside Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, ahead of the main COP31 event in November. Nevertheless, around 30 ministers, including those from India and European nations and representatives from China and Saudi Arabia, attended the pre-summit alongside approximately 4,000 others.

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