Business reporter: Climate High-Level Champion Launches Vision for COP31 at London Climate Action Week Opening Event
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, June 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- COP31 Climate High-Level Champion Samed Ağırbaş today unveiled his vision for climate action on the road to Antalya and beyond during "Time to Deliver:
The Global Climate Action Agenda in Action," the opening of London Climate Action Week, calling for a renewed focus on implementation, inclusivity and practical solutions that improve people's lives.
The event brought together leaders from the UN, governments, business, finance, cities, civil society and international organizations to discuss how climate commitments can be translated into practical implementation ahead of COP31. London Climate Action Week has become one of the world's leading climate gatherings, convening thousands of participants and serving as an important platform for the Global Climate Action Agenda between COPs.
In his vision statement, Ağırbaş outlined a people-centred approach to climate action rooted in implementation, inclusivity, partnership and practical action.
"I envision a world where children are free from the climate crisis and where every person has the opportunity to thrive in dignity, health and security and to participate meaningfully in shaping the climate solutions that affect their lives," said Ağırbaş. "Climate action must reach people where they are and be shaped with them. This requires inclusive participation across society, ensuring communities are not only beneficiaries of climate action but active partners in designing and implementing solutions. It must strengthen resilience in communities most exposed to climate impacts and generate tangible benefits for health, livelihoods, food security, nature and economic opportunity."
Building on the outcomes of COP30 in Belém and the new five-year vision of the Global Climate Action Agenda, Ağırbaş reaffirmed his commitment to supporting implementation of the Paris Agreement by mobilizing action across governments and non-state actors.
"COP31 represents an important milestone in the transition from ambition to implementation," he said. "The commitments, roadmaps, pledges and breakthroughs developed across previous COPs must now translate into measurable outcomes in communities, cities, farms, industries and households around the world."
Ağırbaş emphasized that climate action must improve lives and become increasingly relevant to people and communities facing the impacts of climate change.
"At the centre of this effort is a simple principle: climate action must improve lives," he said. "Climate solutions are strongest when they are designed with the participation of those they seek to serve."
The COP31 Climate High-Level Champion identified several interconnected priorities that will guide his work on the road to Antalya, including strengthening food systems, improving water resilience, promoting Zero Waste approaches that prioritize avoiding waste in the first place as the most effective way to reduce emissions and resource use, and advancing practical solutions that support resilient communities and sustainable development.
Inspired by the global Zero Waste movement championed by Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan, Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Zero Waste, Ağırbaş highlighted Zero Waste as a practical pathway for accelerating implementation across multiple sectors.
"Zero Waste is not only about waste management," he said. "It is about how societies organize themselves to live, produce, consume and prosper within the limits of available resources. The greatest environmental and climate benefits come from avoiding waste before it is created, reducing unnecessary consumption, extending product lifetimes, encouraging reuse and repair, and keeping valuable resources in productive use for as long as possible."
Building on Türkiye's leadership in advancing Zero Waste globally, Ağırbaş announced efforts to strengthen cooperation around the Istanbul Platform on Zero Waste that connects initiatives and stakeholders working across food systems, cities, industry, methane reduction, biodiversity, health and sustainable development.
As part of this effort, he also highlighted the importance of reducing food loss and waste as a practical climate solution.
"At a time when hundreds of millions of people continue to face food insecurity, reducing food loss and waste is not only an environmental imperative. It is a moral imperative," he said. "Every tonne of food saved represents less hunger, reduced emissions, reduced pressure on natural resources and greater resilience for communities facing climate impacts."
Ağırbaş also reiterated his continued advocacy for COP31 to become the world's first fully Zero Waste COP, applying zero waste principles to the design, management and operations of the conference itself.
"I hope this can become a legacy for future COPs and a practical example of implementation in action," he said.
The vision also includes efforts to mobilize financing and partnerships to accelerate implementation and support real-economy transformation across sectors and communities.
Since his appointment, Ağırbaş has been engaging with Parties, Marrakech Partnership stakeholders, city networks, businesses, youth representatives, civil society organizations and international institutions to gather perspectives and strengthen implementation efforts on the road to Antalya.
He concluded with a call for collective action and partnership.
"The true measure of our success will not be the number of declarations we adopt," he said. "It will be whether children are safer, whether communities are more resilient, whether fewer people go hungry, and whether climate action becomes visible in the lives of people around the world."
"This is the challenge before us. This is the opportunity of Antalya. And this is the future we must build together."
The Global Climate Action Agenda in Action," the opening of London Climate Action Week, calling for a renewed focus on implementation, inclusivity and practical solutions that improve people's lives.
The event brought together leaders from the UN, governments, business, finance, cities, civil society and international organizations to discuss how climate commitments can be translated into practical implementation ahead of COP31. London Climate Action Week has become one of the world's leading climate gatherings, convening thousands of participants and serving as an important platform for the Global Climate Action Agenda between COPs.
In his vision statement, Ağırbaş outlined a people-centred approach to climate action rooted in implementation, inclusivity, partnership and practical action.
"I envision a world where children are free from the climate crisis and where every person has the opportunity to thrive in dignity, health and security and to participate meaningfully in shaping the climate solutions that affect their lives," said Ağırbaş. "Climate action must reach people where they are and be shaped with them. This requires inclusive participation across society, ensuring communities are not only beneficiaries of climate action but active partners in designing and implementing solutions. It must strengthen resilience in communities most exposed to climate impacts and generate tangible benefits for health, livelihoods, food security, nature and economic opportunity."
Building on the outcomes of COP30 in Belém and the new five-year vision of the Global Climate Action Agenda, Ağırbaş reaffirmed his commitment to supporting implementation of the Paris Agreement by mobilizing action across governments and non-state actors.
"COP31 represents an important milestone in the transition from ambition to implementation," he said. "The commitments, roadmaps, pledges and breakthroughs developed across previous COPs must now translate into measurable outcomes in communities, cities, farms, industries and households around the world."
Ağırbaş emphasized that climate action must improve lives and become increasingly relevant to people and communities facing the impacts of climate change.
"At the centre of this effort is a simple principle: climate action must improve lives," he said. "Climate solutions are strongest when they are designed with the participation of those they seek to serve."
The COP31 Climate High-Level Champion identified several interconnected priorities that will guide his work on the road to Antalya, including strengthening food systems, improving water resilience, promoting Zero Waste approaches that prioritize avoiding waste in the first place as the most effective way to reduce emissions and resource use, and advancing practical solutions that support resilient communities and sustainable development.
Inspired by the global Zero Waste movement championed by Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan, Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Zero Waste, Ağırbaş highlighted Zero Waste as a practical pathway for accelerating implementation across multiple sectors.
"Zero Waste is not only about waste management," he said. "It is about how societies organize themselves to live, produce, consume and prosper within the limits of available resources. The greatest environmental and climate benefits come from avoiding waste before it is created, reducing unnecessary consumption, extending product lifetimes, encouraging reuse and repair, and keeping valuable resources in productive use for as long as possible."
Building on Türkiye's leadership in advancing Zero Waste globally, Ağırbaş announced efforts to strengthen cooperation around the Istanbul Platform on Zero Waste that connects initiatives and stakeholders working across food systems, cities, industry, methane reduction, biodiversity, health and sustainable development.
As part of this effort, he also highlighted the importance of reducing food loss and waste as a practical climate solution.
"At a time when hundreds of millions of people continue to face food insecurity, reducing food loss and waste is not only an environmental imperative. It is a moral imperative," he said. "Every tonne of food saved represents less hunger, reduced emissions, reduced pressure on natural resources and greater resilience for communities facing climate impacts."
Ağırbaş also reiterated his continued advocacy for COP31 to become the world's first fully Zero Waste COP, applying zero waste principles to the design, management and operations of the conference itself.
"I hope this can become a legacy for future COPs and a practical example of implementation in action," he said.
The vision also includes efforts to mobilize financing and partnerships to accelerate implementation and support real-economy transformation across sectors and communities.
Since his appointment, Ağırbaş has been engaging with Parties, Marrakech Partnership stakeholders, city networks, businesses, youth representatives, civil society organizations and international institutions to gather perspectives and strengthen implementation efforts on the road to Antalya.
He concluded with a call for collective action and partnership.
"The true measure of our success will not be the number of declarations we adopt," he said. "It will be whether children are safer, whether communities are more resilient, whether fewer people go hungry, and whether climate action becomes visible in the lives of people around the world."
"This is the challenge before us. This is the opportunity of Antalya. And this is the future we must build together."
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