The President’s opening remarks at the special event he convened ahead of COP31, on turning ambition into implementation, resourcing it, and bringing adaptation, disaster risk reduction and early warning into one framework. They are reproduced in full below, as delivered, and are available as issued in PDF.
In His Words
Quoted verbatim from the speech as delivered. The full text follows below.
Let COP31 be judged not by the promises we repeat, but by the people we protect.
H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman
Special event “A Planet Fit for the Future: Restoring Trust through Climate Action”, 16 October 2026
The Speech in Full
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Once again, I warmly welcome you to this morning’s event, A Planet Fit for the Future: Restoring Trust through Climate Action.
We were reminded of the magnitude of challenges before us, by the recent devastating floods in Nepal and China. We saw how quickly threats in mountain regions can overwhelm communities downstream. Scientists had long warned that such events were becoming a reality. Yet none of us were prepared for the shocking footage of a wall of water barrelling down a valley, wiping away people, homes and communities in its path.
These hazards are not identical, nor can every disaster be attributed solely to climate change, but a warming planet compounds risks, and the consequences cascade across borders, ecosystems and economies.
Melting glaciers threaten water security and contribute to rising seas. Warmer oceans reshape weather patterns. Heat and drought undermine food supplies and livelihoods.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Since 2000, mountain glaciers have lost about 6.2 per cent of their ice, including an estimated 408 billion tonnes in 2025 alone.
Global sea level could rise by 0.23 metres by 2050, threatening coastal communities and Small Island Developing States.
And global temperature rise is on track to reach 2.8 degrees Celsius, even with current climate policies put into play.
WMO warns that this year’s strengthening El Ni?o could be among the strongest since at least 1950.
And UNEP projects warming of 2.8 degrees Celsius under current policies.
Behind these figures are families uprooted, children missing school, women walking further for water, and communities confronting losses they cannot bear.
Excellencies,
The scale of the challenge is clear.
But fortunately, we are not starting from scratch.
The Paris Agreement demonstrated what multilateralism can achieve.
As Laurent Fabius, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, said at the time, “This is a small gavel, but I believe it can do big things.”
He was right.
The adoption of that Agreement, and the processes that have built upon it, including the UAE Consensus, alongside the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs and the Awaza Programme of Action for LLDCs, provides essential foundations for climate action and resilient development.
Our task is to turn commitments into protection and promises into trust.
T¨¹rkiye’s COP31 Presidency has placed implementation through cooperation and collective action at the centre of its agenda.
This is precisely the test before us.
Allow me to offer three priorities.
First, we must turn ambition into implementation.
Member States must arrive in Antalya ready to translate their nationally determined contributions into funded, measurable action consistent with keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.
That means accelerating renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification; advancing a just transition away from fossil fuels; and investing in adaptation alongside mitigation.
The COP31 Presidency’s priorities – resilient cities and buildings, green industrialization, zero waste and methane reduction – offer practical entry points. Climate-resilient agriculture and climate education can connect these transformations into everyday lives.
Its proposed Climate Implementation Bridge should help countries turn national policies into investable projects, supported by technology transfer and stronger institutions.
But implementation must begin with those most exposed: small island developing States, least developed countries, and low-lying coastal communities.
Vulnerability must inform access to concessional and climate finance. Income alone cannot capture a country’s exposure to existential risks.
I welcome the Taku Pakasoa Declaration adopted at the Pacific Pre-COP, with its emphasis on solidarity, the 1.5-degree goal, resilience, finance and ocean protection.
For vulnerable countries, COP31 must be more than another negotiating milestone. It must demonstrate that multilateralism delivers.
Second, we need to resource our ambitions.
A climate commitment without financing is a promise deferred and, too often, a life left unprotected.
UNCTAD estimates that developing countries’ climate-financing needs could reach approximately 1.8 trillion dollars annually by 2030.
The New Collective Quantified Goal calls for at least 300 billion dollars annually by 2035, with developed countries taking the lead, alongside efforts by all actors to scale finance to at least 1.3 trillion dollars annually.
These commitments must translate into credible delivery.
Pension funds and sovereign wealth funds can help finance renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and green industry.
Public guarantees, project preparation and affordable capital can help unlock long-term investment.
But private investment must complement, not replace, public obligations and grant-based support.
We must deliver on the Compromiso de Sevilla, address unsustainable debt and reform an international financial architecture that too often makes finance most expensive where needs are greatest.
Climate finance should become more available, accessible and affordable, with simpler procedures and stronger national capacity to secure and deploy it.
The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage needs to be adequately resourced and deliver timely support to frontline communities.
Justice requires more than recognizing vulnerability. It requires financing a response.
Third, we must integrate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and technological opportunity within a coherent framework.
We cannot prevent every hazard. But we can prevent many hazards from becoming catastrophes.
The Early Warnings for All initiative offers a vital foundation. But an early warning succeeds only when it reaches the last mile, and people have the means to act.
Risk knowledge should connect with predictable finance, evacuation plans, resilient infrastructure and trusted local communication.
Artificial intelligence and digital tools can offer us the possibility of mapping terrain, tracking weather patterns, identifying vulnerable areas, informing at-risk populations and helping responders act faster when disaster strikes.
And we are already seeing early efforts in this direction, including the use of digital tools to support farmers and fishermen.
It is our collective responsibility to close digital divides, share knowledge, strengthen capacity and combine scientific innovation with local and Indigenous knowledge.
Women, young people and persons with disabilities must help shape preparedness.
Excellencies,
Let today’s discussion identify practical convergence: stronger national plans, accessible finance, shared technology and warnings that reach everyone in time.
We cannot undo the devastation caused by disasters. But we possess tools that earlier generations did not: better science, the advent of AGI, better technology, stronger early warning systems and a global framework for action.
What remains is the political will to use them and use them together, collectively, by all of us.
Let COP31 be judged not by the promises we repeat, but by the people we protect.
That is how we restore trust.
That is how we build a planet fit for the future.
Thank you.