Türkiye gathers 200 youth for COP31 climate negotiation simulation

Two hundred young delegates from Türkiye and abroad will convene on Democracy and Freedoms Island for a six-day UN climate negotiation simulation starting Aug. 27, as organizers seek to prepare the next generation of diplomats for the upcoming COP31 summit.

The NextGenCOP30.5 program, organized by the Cemre Foundation in partnership with the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry and Istanbul Technical University with support from the University of Cambridge, will divide participants into six negotiating blocs representing diverse economic and political interests. Participants from Cambridge and Oxford universities will negotiate emissions reductions, climate finance, loss and damage, and adaptation measures.

Organizers designed the simulation to provide practical diplomacy experience, including defending national interests, building coalitions and managing red lines under pressure. Unexpected climate-crisis scenarios will force delegates to reassess positions and seek new alliances during the sessions.

Youth voices at the table

"We do not want young people to watch the climate debate from the sidelines. We are inviting them to take their seats at the table," said Furkan Gokgoz, chairman of the board of the Cemre Foundation. "Because tomorrow's real negotiating tables will be occupied by the young people of today."

Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum — who serves as president of COP31 — is scheduled to attend the official opening on Aug. 28. The program will feature policy sessions on climate finance, the circular economy, sustainable agriculture and artificial intelligence applications in climate solutions, with Cambridge Judge Business School Professor Khaled Soufani participating online.

Bridging policy and innovation

Alongside the negotiation-focused Blue Zone, the Green Zone will showcase climate technologies and business models from ten startups — five from Cambridge's entrepreneurial ecosystem and five from Türkiye's innovation sector. The zone will feature expert panels, three-minute pitches and networking among entrepreneurs, policymakers and investors.

"Some of the young people taking their seats at a simulation table today will, within a few years, have a voice in real climate negotiations on behalf of Türkiye, an international organisation, a university or a company," Gokgoz said. "We want Türkiye's young people to tell Türkiye's climate story at negotiating tables around the world."

The Antalya Agreement

The simulation will conclude with a plenary vote on the "Antalya Agreement," requiring support from at least four of the six negotiating blocs to pass. "The most difficult part of climate diplomacy is not defining the problem, but bringing different interests together around the same solution," Gokgoz said. "The Antalya Agreement will be the outcome of the ideas the delegates defended and the compromises they built."