Climate Finance

Istanbul Climate Finance Summit Lays the Groundwork for Cooperation Ahead of COP31

At the 4–5 September summit, UNDP was announced as implementing partner of the Climate Implementation Bridge, the Istanbul Declaration was issued and six thematic working groups were set up.

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Istanbul Climate Finance Summit Lays the Groundwork for Cooperation Ahead of COP31
Photo: csb.gov.tr

The Istanbul Climate Finance Summit (ICFS) was held in Istanbul on 4–5 September 2026, bringing together private banks, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and climate funds.

“Without finance, there is no implementation.”

— Murat Kurum, COP31 President

In his address, COP31 President Murat Kurum argued that climate finance should be treated as a strategic security priority.

$7.5–9 trillionAnnual climate finance need
~$1.9 trillionCurrent global investment
6Thematic working groups

The summit announced UNDP as the implementing partner of the Climate Implementation Bridge (CIB). An Istanbul Declaration, signed by numerous financial institutions and organisations, was also issued, committing to support the Bridge and to stronger coordination in climate finance.

Climate Finance Policy Dialogue: six working groups

  1. Financial regulation and taxonomy
  2. Green finance instruments
  3. Bankable project pipelines
  4. Blended finance and risk-sharing instruments
  5. Mobilising private capital
  6. Sustainability reporting, assurance and reliable climate data

Beyond providing input to the COP31 Presidency, the working groups' outputs will also feed into Türkiye's Development Plan (2024–2028) and Green Finance Strategy (2026–2030).

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