TSKB Publishes COP31 Report

TSKB has published its report titled “Towards COP31: Priority Agenda Items and Transformation Opportunities for Türkiye.” The report assesses the issues shaping the global climate agenda during preparations for COP31 and provides a comprehensive review of priority policy areas and key transformation opportunities for Türkiye in climate finance, the energy transition, industrial decarbonization and climate change adaptation, in line with the country’s low-carbon development goals.

The report titled “Towards COP31: Priority Agenda Items and Transformation Opportunities for Türkiye,” prepared by the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye (TSKB) in collaboration with its subsidiary Escarus—an organization that integrates global sustainability approaches into the Turkish business community and provides companies with strategic and operational sustainability advisory services—has been published.

The report treats the COP31 preparatory process as an important stage in the new implementation phase that began following the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, highlighting a new era focused less on setting climate targets and more on implementing them. It notes that, under the COP31 Action Agenda shared with international stakeholders during London Climate Action Week following the Bonn Climate Conference, Türkiye has positioned COP31 as an “Implementation COP” in line with its vision of “Dialogue, Consensus and Action.” Accordingly, zero waste, the clean energy transition, green industrialization, climate-resilient cities and the Climate Implementation Bridge initiative stand out among the priority areas for implementation.

Emphasizing that climate action has emerged as a multi-stakeholder transformation process jointly driven by the private sector, financial institutions and technological innovation, the report states that Türkiye is accelerating efforts to strengthen its capacity to access climate finance and develop a project portfolio to support low-carbon investments in industry. It also notes that the energy transition has become a core component not only of climate policies but also of economic security, industrial policy and national security strategies. Geopolitical tensions are said to have expanded the risks to energy supply security beyond oil and natural gas, creating a broader area of vulnerability that also encompasses electricity infrastructure, critical minerals and clean energy technologies. In this context, the report underlines the importance of scaling up electrification—particularly in industry and transport—and addressing energy and grid investments together, with a view to price stability and energy security.

Commenting on the report, TSKB Executive Vice President and Sustainability Leader Meral Murathan said: “As we head towards COP31, which will be hosted by Türkiye for the first time this year, this valuable report drawn up by TSKB and Escarus provides a detailed analysis of many important topics. It covers a range of key issues, including the Climate Implementation Bridge mechanism, an innovative initiative developed under Türkiye’s leadership to support the implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), turn national priorities into bankable project portfolios and strengthen implementation capacity by facilitating access to climate finance. While providing a detailed assessment of the latest developments in global climate governance, we also offer a strategic perspective on the impact of geopolitical and economic dynamics on climate policies. We hope this study will benefit all our stakeholders who create value in line with our country’s multidimensional development goals on the road to COP31.”

Key highlights from the report:

• Climate action extends beyond public policy and requires a multi-stakeholder transformation driven by the private sector, the financial sector and technological innovation.
• Türkiye is accelerating efforts to strengthen its capacity to access climate finance and develop a project portfolio to support low-carbon investments in industry. The national capacity-building and industrial decarbonization initiatives undertaken in this context aim to facilitate private-sector investment by strengthening alignment between policy frameworks and the financial system.
• Electrification, which is critical for price stability and energy security, needs to be scaled up, particularly in the industrial and transport sectors, and addressed together with energy and grid investments.
• Coordinated action by the public and private sectors, increased private-sector investment and stronger financial incentives play an important role in accelerating climate change adaptation investments and scaling up adaptation finance.
• Financial institutions need to integrate physical climate risks into their credit allocation, investment and risk management processes and direct capital flows towards climate-resilient investments.
• In developing countries, priorities for climate action include lowering the cost of capital, expanding risk-sharing instruments such as guarantees and insurance, and ensuring a more effective role for multilateral development finance institutions.
• Linking financing to strategic, national investment plans rather than individual projects, and developing technical capacity, data infrastructure and common standards, are also becoming decisive in accelerating investment flows.
• Water management is considered one of the core components of climate change adaptation policies. Ensuring water security requires the expansion of climate-resilient infrastructure, the use of digital technologies and accelerated investment in alternative water sources.
• Just transition seeks to prevent new social and economic inequalities while achieving climate targets. Policy and support mechanisms designed with due consideration for the varying impacts of the transition to a low-carbon economy on sectors and regions will be among the key factors enabling the transformation to advance in a more inclusive and implementable manner.

The full report is available at the link.