COP31-IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue

Why It Matters

The IEA‑Turkey partnership anchors COP31 around energy security and rapid decarbonisation, influencing global policy and investment decisions as the world confronts its deepest energy crisis.

Key Takeaways

• IEA and Turkey announce strategic partnership for COP31 energy agenda.
• Global energy crisis drives urgent focus on diversification and clean transition.
• Renewables comprised 75% of new power capacity in 2025, accelerating decarbonization.
• Turkey tripled renewable electricity and invested $10 billion in efficiency this decade.
• IEA to host Nairobi summit on clean cooking, targeting African health impacts.

Summary

The International Energy Agency hosted a high‑level dialogue in Poland to kick off preparations for COP31, highlighting a new strategic partnership with Turkey’s presidency. The meeting brought together former COP presidents, UNFCCC officials, and senior energy ministers to align on the agenda for the Antalya summit.

Speakers underscored the severity of the current energy crisis—oil prices above $120, strained gas and fertilizer markets—and stressed that the shock is reshaping choices around fuels, partners and emissions pathways. IEA data showed that 75% of power plants added in 2025 were renewable, nuclear output hit a historic high, and electric‑vehicle sales in Southeast Asia doubled, keeping global CO₂ growth at its slowest pace in years.

Prominent remarks highlighted Turkey’s decade‑long push: renewable electricity generation has tripled, $10 billion has been poured into energy‑efficiency projects, and the country now leads the EU in storage capacity. The IEA also announced a Nairobi summit in July, co‑hosted with Kenya, Norway and the United States, to address clean‑cooking challenges that claim half‑a‑million African women’s lives annually.

The partnership signals that COP31 will prioritize energy‑security diversification, accelerated clean‑energy transition, and demand‑side measures such as green industrialisation, circular economy and resilient cities. By linking IEA’s crisis‑response tools with Turkey’s hosting role, the dialogue aims to shape policy, mobilise investment and ensure multilateral cooperation delivers tangible outcomes at the summit.

Original Description

Learn more: https://www.iea.org/events/cop31-iea-high-level-energy-transition-dialogue

The COP31 Presidency and the IEA will hold the first in a series of High-Level Energy Transition Dialogues in the lead-up to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, bringing together decision makers and thought leaders from around the world to discuss the Presidency’s strategic priorities and share perspectives.

Chaired by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, the inaugural High-Level Dialogue will feature a keynote speech by COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Special remarks will also be delivered by Ambassador Stephen Jones of Australia, which is the President of Negotiations for COP31; leaders of previous COPs, including COP21 President Laurent Fabius, COP26 President Alok Sharma, and COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev; as well as UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and IIGCC CEO Stephanie Pfeifer.

The opening segment will be livestreamed. Participants in the event, which comes at a time of major energy security challenges, will include leading figures from governments, industry, finance and civil society from around the world.

The dialogue provides an opportunity for the COP31 Presidency to present its strategic vision and priorities, and to gather perspectives from international partners on how to ensure a successful COP in Antalya in November. As Türkiye advances its COP31 Presidency in partnership with Australia, the dialogue will focus on how existing commitments can be translated into practical, affordable and measurable outcomes.

This year’s High-Level Dialogue series builds on those convened in previous years, starting with the COP28 Presidency of the United Arab Emirates in 2023 and continuing with the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan and the COP30 Presidency of Brazil.

The dialogues bring together senior decision makers to help shape the energy-related priorities, activities and outcomes at COP. The COP31-IEA dialogue series will continue in the coming months, supporting the Presidency in refining its goals, strengthening alignment among stakeholders, and ensuring that energy remains in focus as discussions evolve.