Towards COP31: The Role of the Private Sector in Climate Action

Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends,

It is a pleasure to join you for the third-round table in our Private Sector Engagement Series on the road to COP31.

On behalf of UN in Türkiye, welcome.

I would like to thank the UN Global Compact Türkiye, the Zero Waste Foundation, the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion’s Office, and all our partners for bringing us together.

We meet at an important moment for the global climate agenda. As we move towards COP31, the focus is increasingly on turning ambition into implementation, mobilizing finance, scaling solutions and strengthening partnerships between governments, businesses, investors and communities.

This is also the spirit of the COP31 process and its emphasis on Dialogue, Consensus and Action.

The private sector has a central role in this transition. Businesses are not only affected by climate change; they are also major drivers of investment, innovation, technology, employment and solutions.

Türkiye is strengthening the enabling environment for this transformation. The National Green Finance Strategy and Action Plan provides an important framework for developing the green finance ecosystem and directing capital towards sustainable investments. The newly introduced Türkiye Green Taxonomy Regulation is another important step towards transparency, credible green investment and reducing the risk of greenwashing.

But frameworks alone are not enough. Implementation is key.We need bankable projects, innovative financial instruments, reliable data, stronger capacities and partnerships that can translate policy ambition into investment and measurable results.

This brings me to the particular focus of today's round table: natural resource management and an inclusive and just transition.

Climate action cannot be separated from how we manage our land, water, forests, biodiversity and other natural resources. These are not simply environmental assets. They underpin food systems, supply chains, livelihoods, economic productivity and community resilience.

The Secretary-General has recently reminded us that climate impacts are already putting pressure on food and water systems, supply chains and livelihoods, and that adaptation and resilience must be treated as fundamental elements of development.

For the private sector, this means looking beyond individual company footprints and increasingly considering dependencies, risks and impacts across value chains and at landscape and basin level.

The other essential dimension is justice.

As the Secretary-General has stressed, the transition itself is no longer in question; the question is whether the transition will be adequately managed or whether it will chaotic, fair or unequal. A just transition must ensure that workers, communities and regions affected by structural change are not left behind, while creating new opportunities for decent work, skills and investment.

For businesses, this means integrating just-transition considerations into investment and decarbonization strategies, including reskilling and upskilling workers, supporting SMEs and local economies, and ensuring that the benefits of the green economy are broadly shared.

This is where the COP31 Business Forum and the engagement of Türkiye's private sector become particularly important.

As we look towards COP31, I would encourage us to focus on three questions:

First, what can we implement now?

Second, how can we manage our natural resources in ways that strengthen both environmental sustainability and economic resilience?

And third, how can we ensure that the transition creates opportunities for workers, communities and businesses alike?

The ambition should be to move from dialogue to projects, partnerships, investments and measurable commitments that Türkiye can take forward to COP31 and beyond.

The United Nations in Türkiye stands ready to support this process, by bringing partners together, sharing international experience and connecting Türkiye's priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals and the global climate agenda.

COP31 is not only an event in Antalya. It is an opportunity to strengthen the partnerships and systems that will deliver climate action well beyond COP31.

I wish you a productive discussion and look forward to seeing today's dialogue translated into concrete action.

Thank you.