COP31 is taking place from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey, with nearly 200 countries and agriculture as the focus of the debate. Argentina officially accredited its participation, although the composition of its delegation was not detailed.
COP31 is already under way. From November 9 through the 20th, representatives of nearly 200 countries are taking part in Antalya, Turkey, in a new United Nations conference on climate change, whose central discussions will include the future of food production and the resources needed to transform agricultural systems.
The agenda of this edition places agriculture in a prominent position, not only because of its exposure to droughts, floods and extreme temperatures, but also because of the role it can play in reducing emissions and building more resilient food systems.
Argentina appears in the credentials registry received by the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, updated as of November 4. The official document includes the country among the states that accredited their participation in the summit in Turkey, which confirms its status as a participant in the international negotiations, although it does not by itself detail the full composition of the delegation that traveled to Antalya.
There is speculation about the participation of Eliana Saissac, director of Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, who would be in charge of the country's diplomatic representation in the multilateral negotiations on climate change.
Argentina's presence in Antalya has an immediate political precedent. In November 2024, during COP29 held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Javier Milei ordered the withdrawal of the national delegation when the conference had been under way for barely three days. The instruction, conveyed through the Foreign Ministry headed by Gerardo Werthein, meant that the country left the discussion forums it shared with Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador, in addition to the G77 plus China. The government argued at the time that it needed to "reassess the situation." However, Argentina did not abandon the Paris Agreement and returned to participate in COP30, in Brazil, in 2025, although with a delegation reduced to five members. Now, with its credentials officially submitted for COP31, the country is once again represented at the main international climate negotiation forum.
Kaveh Zahedi, director of Climate Change at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), warned: "Climate change threatens the world's ability to feed itself." The official noted that rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and floods disrupt harvests, with consequences that reach food prices, producers' livelihoods and the economies of entire regions.
In his view, it will not be possible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement without transforming agrifood systems and strengthening climate action in agriculture. One of the discussions running through COP31 is how to ensure that resources allocated to combating climate change effectively reach those who produce food.
Daniel Mwendah M'Mailutha, president of the World Farmers' Organisation, argued that the main challenge is "to turn those commitments into accessible, predictable and practical support for farmers," who currently receive a very small share of climate finance. "Farmers are among the first to be affected by climate change and are part of the solutions, so they must be at the center of the decisions that affect them," he said.
The discussion also considers the differences between the resources aimed at mitigating emissions and those directed at adaptation. Haseeb Bakhtary, a specialist at the consulting firm Climate Focus, warned that adaptation receives less funding than mitigation, even though producers need tools to cope with increasingly demanding climate conditions.
Among the measures on the agenda are the development of drought-resistant seeds, improved irrigation systems, weather information, rural extension services and greater efficiency in fertilizer use. Soil carbon storage practices and improvements in livestock management are also mentioned.
Women farmers' access to finance and the participation of young people in production chains are also among the priorities announced for this edition.
The Turkish presidency of COP31 seeks to promote an initiative called the Turquoise Nexus, which proposes integrating three dimensions that are usually addressed separately: food security, sustainable water management and resilience to climate change.
The approach starts from a direct relationship among those factors: without water availability and production systems capable of withstanding extreme events, food production is exposed to growing risks.
The proposal is being developed within the framework of FAO's FAST partnership, aimed at accelerating the sustainable transformation of food and agricultural systems. Its objectives include the modernization of irrigation systems, the implementation of early warnings, the development of drought-resistant crops and the incorporation of water management into food security policies. The initiative also contemplates public policy commitments, investments and technical assistance.
Antalya's climate agenda also opens a discussion on new industrial opportunities for raw materials of biological origin. One of the sectors seeking to accelerate its transformation is aviation, with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which aim to reduce the carbon footprint of air transport through the use of different feedstocks and production technologies.
The topic will have a dedicated space with the holding of the Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, organized by Air Transport Action Group, Turkish Airlines, the Zero Waste Foundation and the conference's High Representative for Climate Action. The meeting will bring together representatives of governments, airlines, energy industries, international organizations, financial institutions and research centers to discuss the decarbonization of air transport.
The participation of the agro-industrial sector in this transformation deserves attention: vegetable oils, agricultural residues and other biomass sources can form part of the supply chains to produce sustainable fuels, although their development depends on the availability of technology, investment, regulations and sustainability criteria.
The discussion already involves transport companies. In October, the Zero Waste Foundation and Turkish Airlines signed a cooperation protocol to work on resource efficiency, waste reduction, food waste and reducing the carbon footprint of airline operations. The agreement includes actions linked to sustainable aviation fuels and the circular economy. Turkish Airlines said it will continue working in line with its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in keeping with Turkey's national goal of reaching net zero emissions in 2053.
