Turkey bets on south-south cooperation ahead of COP31

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece Devex or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Turkey is using its presidency of COP31 to develop a new South-South and triangular climate cooperation initiative aimed at helping developing countries access climate finance, technology, expertise and implementation support
• The initiative is being developed by Turkey's cooperation agency TİKA, the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion and the UN in Turkey, with a particular focus on least developed countries and small island developing states

🔭 The context: The initiative follows a July policy dialogue in Ankara designed to explore how developing countries can share practical climate solutions and expertise directly with one another
• Rather than relying exclusively on traditional North-South aid flows, the proposed mechanism would facilitate cooperation between countries facing similar development and climate challenges
• It could cover technology transfer, technical expertise, financing and support for implementing national climate commitments
• The effort comes as developing countries continue to call for greater access to climate finance and practical implementation support, while South-South cooperation is gaining importance as an alternative mechanism for mobilising resources and knowledge

🌍 Why it matters for the plant: The initiative could help address one of the biggest barriers to global climate action: the gap between countries' climate commitments and their capacity to implement them
• Sharing technologies, expertise and financing between developing economies could make solutions more accessible and better adapted to local conditions, strengthening climate cooperation beyond the traditional donor-recipient model
• For COP31, the initiative offers Turkey an opportunity to position the conference around implementation and practical delivery, rather than negotiations alone

⏭️ What’s next: The proposed mechanism credibility would depend on Turkey's ability turn the initial policy dialogue into a concrete platform with identifiable funding, participating countries, technology partnerships and measurable projects
• With COP31 approaching, the initiative could become an important test of whether South-South cooperation can translate political commitments into tangible climate action

💬 One quote: “The initiative is meant to connect developing countries with practical solutions, expertise, technologies and financing.” Jesse Chase-Lubitz, Devex

Subscribe to our free newsletters to never miss a beat in sustainability.

The world needs sustainability knowledge. At illuminem, no interest group or shareholder can influence our work. Thank you for supporting our mission to make high-quality and independent sustainability information free for all. Every contribution helps. Thank you for donating today.