“The Mediterranean represents a unique opportunity to highlight the Mediterranean dimension of global climate action,” said the Turkish ambassador to France, Yunus Demirer.
Turkey’s ambassador to France, Yunus Demirer, called on Friday for the upcoming COP31 in Antalya to be a « lasting legacy » for the Mediterranean, during a climate consultation held at the Turkish embassy in Paris.
« The Mediterranean represents a unique opportunity to highlight the Mediterranean dimension of global climate action, » he said, mentioning the ambition to « strengthen regional cooperation » and promote « the implementation of concrete actions. »
This meeting was the third stage, after Rabat and Cairo, in a cycle of seven consultations organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) ahead of COP31, which Turkey will chair in Antalya in November. Further meetings are planned in the coming weeks in Madrid, Rome, Amman, and Algiers.
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A basin on the front line of climate change
The Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the global average, a fact which, according to the organizers, underscores the urgent need for a coordinated response among the countries bordering the region. Gathering in Paris for three roundtables—on electrification and energy transition, oceans and seas, and synergies between the Rio Conventions and adaptation policies—participants emphasized the need to reconcile climate resilience, human development, and economic growth.
Objective: a « strong Mediterranean voice » in Antalya
The discussions in Paris, jointly hosted by Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer and the UfM’s Senior Deputy Secretary General, Mariam Diallo, are intended to inform a « Mediterranean Synthesis Note » to be presented at COP31. Mariam Diallo summarized the issue: « The region no longer needs convincing of the climate emergency. It needs stronger, better-structured, and more implementation-oriented regional cooperation. »
On the French side, the ambassador in charge of climate negotiations, Benoît Faraco, praised a region capable of « building bridges between the countries of the basin » on energy, water, and the fight against plastic pollution. The interministerial delegate for the Mediterranean, Nadia Hai, for her part, emphasized the « central role » of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as a coordination tool.
A unique Mediterranean pavilion at COP31
The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) plans to establish a « Mediterranean Pavilion » in Antalya, a first on the shores of the Mediterranean, designed to showcase the countries of the region, scientists, the private sector, and civil society. This space will notably serve to present the Mediterranean Climate Action Plan, resulting from the process launched in early July during the 3rd Mediterranean Green Week.
The UPM
Established on July 13, 2008, in Paris, as a continuation of the Barcelona Process launched in 1995, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is an intergovernmental organization with a permanent secretariat in Barcelona. It brings together 43 countries and partners, including all 27 Member States of the European Union and the countries of the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, making it the only regional multilateral body to encompass both groups. Its work is structured around five priorities defined in 2021: environment and climate, sustainable economic and human development, social inclusion, digital transformation, and civil protection. France is the largest bilateral contributor.
The Union for the Mediterranean brings together the member states of the European Union and sixteen countries on the southern and eastern shores of the basin.
COP31
COP31 (31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) will be held in November 2026 in Antalya, Turkey.
It will bring together States Parties to assess progress in implementing the Paris Agreement, strengthen climate commitments and accelerate actions on mitigation, adaptation, climate finance and energy transition.
Ahead of the conference, the Turkish presidency of COP31 is organizing, in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a series of consultations in several Mediterranean capitals to identify the common priorities of the region, which will be compiled in a Mediterranean Synthesis Note presented at the conference in Antalya.
