COP31 opened in Antalya, Türkiye, on 10 November 2026 with warnings about climate overshoot and the need to accelerate climate action, as the launch of a roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 renewed calls for governments to place forests, ecosystems and adaptation finance at the centre of international climate policy.
Opening remarks by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum highlighted methane emissions, electrification and the cascading economic and security consequences of climate impacts. However, nature-based solutions received limited attention in the opening statements, while a dedicated agenda item on implementing the commitment to triple adaptation finance was absent from the official negotiating agenda.
The omission raised concerns among environmental organisations and climate advocates about whether the conference would give sufficient attention to the ecosystems and financial resources needed to address worsening climate impacts. The concerns emerged as the COP30 Presidency formally launched its Roadmap to Halt and Reverse Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030, providing countries with a proposed framework for advancing the global forest commitment.
Richard Lee, Head of Communications at Wetlands International, said the opening signals raised questions about the priority being given to nature and adaptation. He argued that protecting and restoring ecosystems, particularly wetlands, was essential to both climate mitigation and resilience, warning that countries could struggle to scale up protective measures without adequate financing.
The absence of a dedicated agenda item on adaptation finance was particularly concerning for countries facing increasing exposure to floods, droughts, coastal erosion and other climate-related risks. Adaptation investment supports the capacity of communities, infrastructure and ecosystems to withstand these impacts, while insufficient funding can leave vulnerable populations and economic systems exposed.
For African countries, the financing question has direct implications for agriculture, water security, infrastructure and livelihoods. Climate adaptation measures increasingly require investment in early-warning systems, resilient infrastructure, ecosystem restoration and climate-smart agricultural systems. Wetlands, forests and other natural ecosystems can help reduce exposure to climate hazards while supporting biodiversity and local economic activity.
The forest roadmap launched by the COP30 Presidency adds another dimension to the debate by seeking to translate the 2030 commitment on deforestation into a framework for implementation. Its launch was welcomed by speakers who emphasised that protecting existing forests must remain central to efforts to limit global warming, particularly as the world faces the possibility of temporarily exceeding the 1.5°C temperature threshold.
Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), argued that global financial flows remain misaligned with forest protection. He said that for every dollar spent on forests, almost twice as much goes towards agricultural subsidies that can harm them, highlighting the scale of the challenge in redirecting public finance and investment towards nature-positive outcomes.
Krause also emphasised the role of forests in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, describing them as critical infrastructure in efforts to address climate overshoot. His intervention placed forest conservation within the wider discussion on carbon removal, arguing that ecosystems remain central to the world’s existing carbon removal capacity, while newer technologies contribute a much smaller share.
The economic implications extend beyond emissions reduction. Forests support water regulation, agricultural productivity, biodiversity, local livelihoods and the resilience of communities. Their degradation can weaken these functions, increasing economic and social vulnerability. Protecting standing forests therefore has implications for national development planning, land-use policy and investment decisions.
The roadmap’s launch was framed as an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation while allowing countries to determine their own approaches. Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, said the initiative demonstrated how commitment and cooperation could support progress despite the difficulties of reaching international consensus.
Silva emphasised that implementation should recognise the rights, territorial knowledge and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. She also highlighted the importance of involving governments, companies and the financial sector, reflecting the need for cooperation across public policy, private investment and community-led forest protection.
The emphasis on Indigenous Peoples and local communities was reinforced by Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities. He argued that the roadmap should recognise these groups as leaders and equal partners in forest protection rather than simply as beneficiaries of international programmes.
This distinction is important because communities living in and around forests often play a direct role in managing territories and protecting ecosystems. Their participation in decision-making, access to resources and recognition of land and territorial rights can influence whether conservation policies deliver lasting results. Without meaningful involvement, forest protection programmes risk overlooking the people whose livelihoods and knowledge are closely connected to these landscapes.
The United Kingdom also stressed the importance of protecting existing forests rather than relying exclusively on new planting to compensate for forest loss. Matt Toombs, Director for International Climate Finance and Strategy at the UK Government, said the commitment must address both halting the destruction of remaining forests, particularly primary forests, and restoring degraded areas.
He argued that newly established forests cannot immediately replace the carbon storage and biodiversity value of mature ecosystems, which may take decades or centuries to recover. The distinction reinforces the importance of preventing deforestation before irreversible ecological losses occur, while recognising restoration as a complementary part of the response.
For countries across Africa, the roadmap could provide a framework for strengthening national forest policies and connecting conservation with climate finance, rural development and land-use planning. The continent’s forests and other ecosystems are important to regional climate stability, biodiversity and livelihoods. However, effective implementation will require countries to address the economic pressures that contribute to forest degradation, including agricultural expansion, competing land uses and limited financing for sustainable alternatives.
The roadmap also raises questions about how international institutions will support countries in developing national implementation plans. André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 President, said the document should be supported by institutions capable of helping countries develop their own roadmaps. He welcomed the stated support of UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), noting the importance of ensuring that forests remain valuable to local populations while being protected for climate and biodiversity objectives.
However, the roadmap is not an approved document of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Oliver Wolf, Senior Policy Adviser at the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, acknowledged that the proposal contained elements requiring further consideration but welcomed its presence as a basis for moving discussions forward.
Wolf proposed including a forest paragraph in the COP31 cover decision that would reaffirm the 2030 commitment, recognise the COP30 Presidency’s work and request dedicated follow-up by current and future COP presidencies. Such a provision could help maintain political attention on forest protection beyond the current conference, although its inclusion would depend on negotiations among Parties.
The opening discussions also highlighted the different implications of climate overshoot for countries and communities. Tina Stege, Pacific COP31 Regional Envoy for Oceania and representative of the Marshall Islands, said the possibility of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C was not an abstract debate for Pacific Island countries. It concerned the future of communities, homes and territories facing rising climate risks.
Her remarks underscored the difference between temporarily exceeding the temperature threshold while retaining the possibility of returning below it and allowing the world to move beyond the threshold without a credible pathway back. The choices made during the current decade, she said, would influence the duration and severity of any overshoot.
For African and Pacific countries, the debate reinforces the importance of linking mitigation with adaptation and ecosystem protection. Forests, wetlands and other natural systems can contribute to carbon storage and climate resilience, but their capacity to deliver these benefits depends on effective protection, restoration and long-term financing.
COP31 therefore begins with two connected challenges: ensuring that climate negotiations respond to the growing risks associated with overshoot, and translating existing commitments on forests and adaptation into practical action. The launch of the forest roadmap provides a proposed basis for cooperation, but its value will ultimately depend on whether countries adopt meaningful implementation measures, align financial flows with conservation priorities and recognise the rights of communities protecting ecosystems.
As negotiations progress in Antalya, the question is no longer simply whether governments support the 2030 forest commitment. It is whether they can turn that commitment into policies, budgets and investment decisions capable of keeping forests standing, strengthening resilience and addressing the economic drivers of environmental degradation.
