From Science to Solutions: Lessons Ahead of COP31
Key Takeaways From the SDSN’s Pre-COP31 Webinar Series
In November 2026, Türkiye will host the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, while Australia will steward the negotiations. In October, Australia led the pre-COP negotiations in the Pacific. This shared leadership model brings together perspectives from across regions at a critical moment for international climate action, as countries seek to translate existing commitments into implementation and strengthen cooperation on the road ahead.
In the lead-up to these negotiations, between July and September 2026, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), SDSN Türkiye, and SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific brought together leaders, scientists, policymakers, businesses, and young professionals for the four-part webinar series, “From Science to Solutions: Mobilizing Knowledge, Partnerships and Action Ahead of COP31.”
With nearly 4,000 participants from around the world, the series examined four areas central to delivering climate action: regional and global cooperation, electrification, the circular economy, and climate finance.
Across all four sessions, one message emerged clearly: The success of COP31 will depend not only on the ambition of its commitments, but on the systems and partnerships needed to deliver them. Speakers emphasized the importance of long-term and regional planning, stronger grids and infrastructure, supportive policies and skills, and a transition that extends beyond energy to materials and production. Equally, ambition must be matched by accessible, affordable, and predictable finance, particularly for developing countries and for adaptation. Underpinning all of these priorities is the need for effective multilateral cooperation and a just transition that works across and within countries. Together, these perspectives point to a COP31 agenda focused not simply on what governments commit to, but on how those commitments can be translated into measurable, equitable, and lasting action.
Learn more about each of the sessions below.
Session One: Special Leaders Dialogue: Bridging Regions for COP31
The opening dialogue brought together COP31 presidency representatives and global climate leaders to explore key priorities for accelerating global climate action ahead of COP31.
Speakers agreed that a shift from negotiating to focusing on the implementation and delivery of climate action is vital at this moment. Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, President of the SDSN, argued that the current framework relies too heavily on short-term national plans, and called for long-term planning, regional energy solutions, a real financial architecture, and negotiations focused on action rather than wording. Professor Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam, underscored the urgency of action, noting that the science shows we are deep into danger — not only of overshooting the 1.5°C temperature limit set in the Paris Agreement, with significant impacts, but also of approaching climate tipping points with potentially much more severe consequences.
The Hon. Kate Thwaites MP, Australian Government Special Envoy for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, highlighted Australia's focus on pursuing electrification to both lower emissions and strengthen energy sovereignty, as well as on strong outcomes for the Pacific and island nations. Professor Dr. Halil Hasar, Director of the Climate Change Directorate of the Republic of Türkiye and COP31 Chief Climate Diplomacy Officer, described COP31 as the "COP of the future," focused on turning commitments into action, with climate finance as a defining issue. Finally, H.E. Liu Zhenmin, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, stressed the importance of safeguarding multilateralism, leaving room for the United States to return to the process, tripling adaptation funding by 2035, and ensuring a just transition that is fair among nations as well as within them.
Session Two: Accelerating Electrification And Renewable Energy
The second webinar explored different regional and stakeholder perspectives on how to scale up clean electricity quickly and fairly.
Professor Sachs began the conversation, noting that zero-carbon power is now affordable and often cheaper than fossil fuels. He added that it must be planned over a quarter of a century and supported by regional cooperation and long-term, stable, and affordable finance. Relatedly, he encouraged the African Union to develop an Africa-wide green energy plan.
Lord Adair Turner, Co-Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, shared that approximately 60% of the emissions that must be eliminated could be addressed through clean electrification. He added that systems with up to 80% renewables are technically feasible, and 40% of power system investment must go into grids. H.E. Ambassador Luke Daunivalu, former High Commissioner of Fiji to Australia and Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, described renewable energy in the Pacific as a matter of survival, sovereignty and resilience, and presented the region's ambition to become the first to run entirely on renewable energy. Additionally, Alkım Bağ, Director of the SHURA Energy Transition Center, shared Türkiye's experience, pointing to long-term policy direction, market design and local framing as the keys to scaling renewables.
Luke Menzel, CEO of Australia’s Energy Efficiency Council, presented the country’s progress, including adding rooftop solar on nearly 40% of households and the rollout of more than 400,000 household batteries. Pablo Necochea, Director of Operations at Ming Yang Smart Energy, argued that the bottleneck in scaling up electrification is no longer manufacturing, technology, or capital, but rather local regulations and infrastructure capacity slowing down deployment. To conclude, Hadiza Abdulmumini, SDG7 Youth Constituency Global Focal Point and Co-Chair of the IRENA Youth Council, reminded participants that young people require skills, stronger ecosystems, and pathways to shape the clean energy transition and not merely observe it, particularly in emerging economies.
Session Three: Advancing A Circular Economy For Climate Action
The third webinar explored how circular economy strategies can drive scalable climate action, a key focus area of the COP31 Presidency.
To open the session, moderator Professor John Thwaites, Chair of the SDSN Board and of SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific, argued that a sustainable economy requires a significant change in the production and consumption of goods, not simply a shift to clean energy. The Hon. Lynda Tabuya, Fiji's Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change, followed, describing her country's waste strategy and container deposit regulations. She called for an ambitious and binding global plastics treaty: "A treaty that only manages waste without addressing production is like mopping the floor while the tap continues to run."
Dr. Neil Khor, Special Advisor to the COP31 Climate High-Level Champion, underlined that COP31 should leave behind "a delivery system, not simply another collection of announcements.” He proposed three tests for any commitment: (1) an accountable owner, (2) a measurable baseline, and (3) a first milestone within 12 months. Professor Dr. Jacqueline Cramer, Emeritus Professor in sustainable innovation at Utrecht University and former Netherlands’ Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, stressed that targets alone do not drive change. Rather, regulation, economic incentives, public procurement and network governance are also necessary. Carlos Silva Filho, Former President of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and Member of the UN Advisory Board on Zero Waste, also called for an end to uncontrolled disposal and open burning, and for greater priority to be given to organic waste.
Dr. Heinz Schandl, Senior Principal Research Scientist and Circular Economy Lead, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), added that 55% of greenhouse gas emissions are locked in at the stage of resource extraction and processing, and spoke of the need for a materials transition alongside the energy transition. Yaprak Tepe, Board Member of TEPAR Textile, provided the perspective of the textile sector, noting that very little recycled fibre comes from textile waste and that the cost of the green transition cannot rest with manufacturers alone.
Session Four: Climate Finance for Impact
Ambition without finance is insufficient, making climate finance one of the most important and most contested topics at the COP negotiations. The final webinar in the series explored the current gaps in climate financing and how to address them.
Professor Sachs began the session by detailing the three broad types of essential climate action: (1)mitigation, (2) adaptation, and (3) loss and damage. Each category requires significant global funding and investment, and while substantial, it is also manageable. However, the global financial system makes it very difficult for finance to flow where it is needed most, to the world’s poorest countries.
Ruel Yamuna, COP31 Pacific Envoy for Access to Climate Finance and Papua New Guinea’s Special Envoy for Climate and Environment, explained that in the lead-up to COP31, the Pacific is calling for more predictable, accessible and fit-for-purpose climate finance, particularly for small Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Echoing this globally, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda, said that climate finance remains insufficient, inefficient, and unfair, despite consistently positive returns on investment from many climate projects. He called for the scale, systems, policies, and institutions needed to achieve the impact required.
From the investor perspective, Idil Bilgic Alpaslan, Regional Policy Lead and Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shared that many climate projects are viable but not yet bankable, and that a combination of financial and policy de-risking is required to get them over the line. Francesca Muskovic, Executive Director of Policy at the Investor Group on Climate Change, emphasised that investors are no longer looking at climate targets alone but at the detailed policies governments are putting in place to support achievement of the targets. She added that the private and public sectors must work together and that better mechanisms are needed to bring the private sector into the climate negotiations process. Shu Xuan Tan, Sustainable Finance Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, also emphasised the importance of flexibility in transition finance in Asia, where countries have varying levels of development and transition. However, she cautioned that flexibility should not come at the expense of environmental integrity, and that clear guidelines are needed to determine what qualifies as transition finance.
Finally, Amal Ridene, Young Climate Change Negotiator and Adaptation and Resilience Associate at Cadlas, reminded participants not to let the complexities of climate finance negotiations obscure what is ultimately at stake: protecting lives, livelihoods, and the climate.
You can rewatch all four webinars on the SDSN’s YouTube channel. To learn more about the UNFCCC COP31, visit the SDSN’s 2026 COP Resource Hub
