From ambition to implementation: What to expect from COP31

Panoramic view of Antalya’s historic harbour, with traditional boats and yachts moored in turquoise water below ancient stone fortifications. Red-roofed buildings, trees, and historic structures line the hillside above the marina, while the Mediterranean Sea stretches along the rocky coastline under a blue sky.

20 October 2026 - Ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, CISL’s new briefing explores why the success of this year’s conference will be judged not only by the agreements reached, but by its ability to accelerate implementation, investment and real-world delivery, building the coalitions, investment pathways and market conditions needed to scale solutions. 

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About 

COP31 takes place at a moment of growing urgency for climate action. Extreme heat, flooding, drought and wildfires are increasingly affecting people and economies, disrupting infrastructure, supply chains and food systems. 

COPs remain the central global forum for collective action on climate change. But their significance increasingly extends beyond the negotiated text to the signals, coalitions and initiatives they enable. 

Following COP30 in Belém, COP31 will be an important test of whether greater momentum can be built around implementation, investment and practical delivery, while progress continues on some of the most challenging areas of the international climate negotiations. 

This briefing explores some of the key issues to watch at COP31, including: 

Mitigation and the transition away from fossil fuels: Mitigation remains politically contentious, with the transition away from fossil fuels a key unresolved issue following COP30. COP31 will test whether countries can make further progress, while practical transition initiatives continue to develop alongside the formal negotiations. 

Clean electrification: Electrification is emerging as a defining theme of the COP31 Action Agenda, connecting emissions reduction with energy security, competitiveness and resilience. Attention will focus on turning ambition into investment and deployment across clean power, grids, storage, transport, buildings and industry. 

Adaptation and resilience: As climate impacts intensify, adaptation and resilience are likely to be among the most prominent issues at COP31, particularly for climate-vulnerable countries and small island states. Access to finance and support for practical resilience measures will be important areas of discussion. 

Finance and implementation: Climate finance is expected to remain one of the principal fault lines at COP31. A central question will be how climate ambition can be translated into the policy frameworks, finance and investable projects needed to deliver change at scale. 

From ambition to implementation 

COP31 will reinforce a central challenge for climate action: viable solutions will not scale unless markets reward their adoption. 

Through CISL’s Making Markets Fit for the Future agenda, we are exploring how policy, finance, business leadership and institutional reform can reshape the conditions in which companies and investors operate. 

What does COP31 mean for business? 

Business has a critical role in translating climate ambition into implementation, through investment, innovation and practical delivery. 

For companies looking to understand the evolving policy landscape, COP31 provides an opportunity to engage policymakers, contribute evidence on what is already working and help identify the barriers preventing solutions from scaling. 

For a deeper look at the negotiations and their implications for business, the Corporate Leaders Groups’ Navigating COP31: What businesses need to know and how CLG members can engage policy briefing explores mitigation, climate finance, adaptation, just transition and opportunities for business engagement in greater detail. 

Sign up to access the full CLG COP31 policy briefing 

CISL at COP31 

CISL will be represented at COP31 across our Corporate Leaders Groups, Centre for Sustainable Finance and Aviation Impact Accelerator, engaging with businesses, policymakers, investors and partners around priorities for accelerating implementation. 

Find out more about CISL at COP31 

Citing this briefing 

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2026). From ambition to implementation: What to expect from COP31. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.