Counter-summit to COP31 in Antalya: The climate conference of others

"So far everything is looking quite good. The preparations are going as planned, there is great interest and there have been no negative reactions from officials yet." Mehmet B., one of the co-organizers of the Halkların İklim Zirvesi (“Peoples' Climate Summit”) parallel to the official COP31, is optimistic that the civil society meeting can go ahead as planned. The launch is scheduled to be a large demonstration on November 14th, at half-time of the official UN summit, which will take place in Antalya from November 9th to 20th.

"Many hundreds of groups from all over Turkey have announced themselves for the demo," says Mehmet B. "Most of them will come to Antalya on buses from all parts of the country. We expect tighter controls on the access routes around the city, but not that buses will be stopped completely." One reason for the unusual optimism in a country in which demonstrations critical of the government are repeatedly banned or violently dispersed is the international attention that the “Peoples' Climate Summit” is already receiving in advance.

Major international organizations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace are warning against restricting the freedom to demonstrate during the climate summit. "Turkey must ensure that the negotiations to protect our common future can be effective and fair. A strong civil society is needed so that climate measures can be implemented. As a host country, Turkey must guarantee that all people can express themselves freely and demonstrate peacefully," said the responsible AI speaker Janine Uhlmmannssiek to the Evangelical Press Service.

Politicians and experts from all over the world are meeting for the 31st UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey. From November 9th to 20th, representatives from around 200 countries will discuss the fight against global warming. The taz has a team on site. Follow our reporting on our focus on taz.de, on klima.taz on Instagram, in the podcast klima update°, in the newsletter TEAM ZUKUNFT, in the weekday e-paper and in the weekly taz.

“Of course we hope that representatives of the official delegations will also come from the congress grounds to the city next Saturday to take part in the demonstration,” says Mehmet B. “That would of course protect us.”

A few days before the start of the alternative summit, the organizers are mainly struggling with practical problems. Where should the guests from all over the world be accommodated? Antalya, the tourist metropolis on the Mediterranean, is full of hotels, but due to the around 100,000 participants in the official UN summit, they are either fully booked or too expensive for the guests of the alternative summit, says Mehmet B.

“We had to find accommodation with friends and sympathizers for the trade unionists from the poor countries of the south and the young people from the threatened Pacific islands, and we will also set up a tent camp,” he explains.

After a long search, the organizers of the alternative summit were able to rent a cultural center in the Kepez district, which is financed through donations. Following the demonstration on Saturday, topics such as “The Rights of Nature”, organic farming, climate justice and democracy and, particularly current in the Middle East, peace policy as a prerequisite for the implementation of climate measures will be discussed in this “Mimar Sinan Cultural Center” for four days.

Kıvanç Eliaçık, the spokesman for the alternative summit, told taz that he was particularly looking forward to numerous African representatives coming to Antalya because the COP is scheduled to take place in Ethiopia next year. "The young people from Africa are tired of having to bear the consequences for the climate crimes of the industrialized countries. They want more justice. This will, above all, shape the upcoming African summit."

Eliaçık is therefore already relying on permeability between the official and the alternative climate summit. “There will be a lot of people involved in both events.” As at previous COPs, Antalya will have a zone near the conference area where NGOs can set up their stands to convey their positions to delegates.

“But these are mainly the large, established organizations such as Greenpeace or the Turkish organization Tema, the largest nature conservation organization in the country,” says Mehmet B. “But it’s good that they are there, it creates a connection between the two events.”