Türkiye and China sign environmental and climate cooperation memorandum at COP31

What happened

Türkiye’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment signed a memorandum covering environmental and climate collaboration during the fifth day of COP31 in Antalya. The signing took place when COP31 President Murat Kurum met China’s ecology and environment minister, Huang Runqiu.

The memorandum identifies a wide range of potential cooperation areas. These include climate change; the management of air, water and soil; desertification; dust and sand storms; biodiversity; and protection of the marine environment. It also includes circular economy work, including chemicals, and environmental monitoring.

The announcement was made by Türkiye’s environment ministry, which said Kurum continued diplomatic meetings alongside his duties chairing and managing COP31 sessions. The ministry did not set out individual programmes, delivery milestones, financial commitments or quantified targets in its notice.

Kurum also met Muhammed Anjarani, Syria’s minister of local administration and environment. They considered opportunities for collaboration on housing production, urban planning, infrastructure, environmental management and strengthening local government. In a subsequent meeting with Iranian Vice President Shina Ensari, Kurum discussed relations between Türkiye and Iran as well as possible environmental and climate cooperation.

Why it matters

The Türkiye-China memorandum brings climate, resource management and environmental protection into one stated ministerial cooperation framework. Its inclusion of chemicals within circular economy activity, alongside monitoring and marine protection, gives the arrangement a broader remit than a climate-only discussion.

For sustainability teams following regional policy and public-sector partnerships, the immediate change is the formal signing of the memorandum rather than the launch of specified projects. Organisations with interests in the listed areas should monitor follow-up announcements from the two ministries for any activities, implementation arrangements or further details arising from the agreement.

Türkiye’s ministry also used the COP31 meetings to explore separate areas of cooperation with Syria and Iran. Those discussions covered different subjects and should not be treated as part of the Türkiye-China memorandum.

Source: Türkiye’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.