The Turkish city of Antalya will be the venue for the next United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP31), which will take place from November 9 to 20 and will bring together representatives from nearly 200 countries to promote the implementation of international commitments in the face of global warming.
In this context, BBVA has announced its participation as a global banking partner of the summit, an alliance that reinforces the role of the financial sector in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The financial institution will collaborate with the Turkish presidency of COP31 and with the United Nations to promote financing mechanisms capable of accelerating the energy transformation and supporting projects linked to decarbonization, climate resilience, and sustainable development. BBVA has highlighted that this edition of the summit will mark the beginning of a new phase in the international climate agenda, focused less on negotiating commitments and more on their effective execution.
For the CEO of BBVA, Onur Genç, holding COP31 in Turkey also has a special significance for the group, given the strategic importance of the country within its international activity. The executive has argued that climate conferences have contributed for years to defining the global framework for action against climate change and believes that a phase aimed at transforming that ambition into concrete results now begins.
The Turkish organization of the summit has also highlighted the value of this collaboration. The president of COP31 and Minister of Environment and Urbanization of Turkey, Murat Kurum, has emphasized that Antalya aims to become a space for cooperation between public and private actors to demonstrate the country’s commitment to climate action.
BBVA’s participation in COP31 will be structured around several axes considered priorities for the conference. Among them are the financing of sustainable infrastructure and electrification processes, the promotion of emerging clean technologies, the incorporation of sustainability criteria in value chains, strengthening climate resilience and protecting nature, as well as building financial systems capable of facilitating an inclusive transition.
With the aim of fostering dialogue among governments, businesses, international organizations, and civil society, the institution will set up its own pavilion of approximately 400 square meters in the so-called Green Zone of the summit. This space will host high-level meetings, debate sessions, and activities focused on sustainable financing, energy transition, and technological innovation applied to the fight against climate change.
BBVA’s presence in Antalya is part of a broader corporate strategy that places sustainability as one of the group’s priorities. The bank reported that it channeled 134 billion euros in sustainable business during 2025 and that, only in the first quarter of 2026, it reached another 36 billion. These figures are part of the goal of mobilizing 700 billion euros in sustainable initiatives between 2025 and 2029.
COP31 arrives at a particularly relevant time for international climate governance. The meeting will aim to assess collective progress in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and explore ways to accelerate financing for the transition, the electrification of the economy, and adaptation to climate impacts. For Turkey, the event also represents an opportunity to strengthen its international projection and consolidate itself as a bridge between regions in one of the great global challenges of the 21st century.
