What happened
Fifty organisations active in coal regions in Türkiye, Australia and other parts of the world have written to COP31 leaders, urging both countries to adopt binding commitments to leave coal behind.
The letter is addressed to Murat Kurum, COP31 President and Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, and Chris Bowen, COP31 Negotiations President and Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy. According to İklim Haber, the coalition wants the two governments to demonstrate an approach that other coal-dependent countries could follow.
Its requests cover three areas. First, the groups want no approvals for new coal-fired power stations or for increases in existing plants’ capacity, alongside an orderly, staged end to coal electricity production. Second, they seek a stop to new coal mines and extensions of mines already operating. Third, they ask the COP31 leadership to accelerate international collaboration on a coal-free future through specific commitments domestically and internationally.
Why it matters
The intervention joins coal supply and coal power policy in a single request. Rather than focusing solely on the closure of assets, the signatories argue that coal-exit policies should be accompanied by plans for a fair transition in affected regions.
Those plans, the letter says, should protect livelihoods, labour and local economies. That framing places the consequences for coal communities alongside the proposed restrictions on future coal development and the managed reduction of generation.
The coalition does not provide a deadline for ending coal generation, opening mines or expanding existing sites. Its immediate request is for concrete, binding action from Türkiye and Australia under the COP31 presidency process.
What readers should watch
For sustainability and transition-planning teams, the relevant question is whether the COP31 leaders respond with commitments covering both new approvals and existing coal assets. Any response will also need to show how employment, incomes and regional economic activity would be addressed in coal-dependent areas.
The letter specifically links national measures in Türkiye and Australia with international cooperation. Stakeholders should therefore watch for announcements that define the scope of a coal phase-down, treatment of mine expansions and the practical components of just-transition plans.
