01/12/2025
The "Impressions from COP30" panel, organized by the Istanbul Policy Center–Sabancı University–Stiftung Mercator Initiative, was held at IPC Karaköy on November 27th with a large turnout. The panel addressed the overall assessment of COP30, the negotiation topics, and the critical debates shaping the climate agenda from different perspectives of experts.
The event began with a brief assessment of the COP30 framework by IPC Climate Change Studies Coordinator Ümit Şahin, who cited current indicators of the climate crisis and noted that Türkiye was recorded as one of the driest regions in the world this year. The panel focused on the debates that led to COP30 being dubbed the "real COP," the blockages surrounding the phase-out from fossil fuels, and initiatives to accelerate implementation.
Speakers evaluated the key topics of COP30 from different perspectives.
Ayşe Ceren Sarı summarized the current state of the climate finance architecture, the financing needs of developing countries, and discussions on "just transition financing," emphasizing that the global financing gap remains critical.
Nuri Özbağdatlı emphasized the importance of a new, implementation-focused approach to negotiations, stating that global implementation accelerator mechanisms will become more prominent during the COP30–31 period.
Tanyeli Behiç Sabuncu stated that the "just transition" work program's achievement of a mechanism this year is a significant step, but that the lack of a clear address for the phase-out from fossil fuels stands out as a significant shortcoming.
Deger Saygın, addressing the topic of industrial decarbonization, emphasized the critical role of financing, technology, and supply chain issues in the transformation of the industrial sector, in light of studies conducted by the OECD and international initiatives.
Devin Bahçeci, on the other hand, discussed "information integrity," one of the prominent topics of COP30, stating that this is the first time that such a large-scale international commitment has been demonstrated to combat disinformation.
In the final section of the panel, Çiğdem Özbaş shared her impressions from the People's Summit held in the Amazon region in parallel with COP30, and outlined the contributions of regional organizations and alternative platforms to the climate justice agenda.
The second part of the panel featured a question-and-answer session where all speakers gathered for a comprehensive discussion on Türkiye's hosting of COP31, the country's negotiation performance, emerging opportunities, and policy priorities. Discussions included how Türkiye could participate in global implementation mechanisms, the international visibility COP31 could provide, and the future of climate policies in the country.
