What can COP31 offer SMEs?

COP31's centre of gravity is implementation: projects, investment and solutions that deliver on the ground. That puts the SMEs in supply chains at the heart of the conversation.

1. SMEs are explicitly on the programme

• 16 November 2026, Day 8 — Science, Industry and Technology: green industrialisation, technology and innovation, digitalisation, AI, low-carbon manufacturing and SMEs by name.¹
• 13 November — Finance and Trade: green transformation, climate-based investment, green finance, value chains and carbon markets.¹
• 19 November — İmece: Enhancing Implementation: capacity building, investment-ready projects and access to finance.¹

At the COP31 Business Forum in New York, the COP31 President set out six expectations of business. The fifth was "knowledge, capacity and SMEs": bringing SMEs — central to global supply chains — into the transition requires technical assistance, common methodologies, capacity building and workable reporting.²

2. The business channel: TOBB and the COP31 Business Forum

The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) leads the COP31 Business Envoy and Business Forum.² Its working groups — on electrification, industrial decarbonisation, food and water security, climate finance, SMEs, emerging economies, climate tech and AI — will take their recommendations to the COP31 Business and Investment Summit in Antalya on 12–13 November.³

In practice: your local chamber or exchange is the shortest route to information and events.

3. Being at the venue

The Green Zone is open to business, civil society, academia and start-ups:⁴

• As a visitor: free visitor registration on cop31.tr
• As a climate-tech start-up: apply to the Startup Zone (startupzone.cop31.center)
• As a supporter or sponsor: Climate Supporters and sponsorship programmes (sponsorship@cop31.tr)
• Event and exhibition questions: greenzone@cop31.tr

Official partnership and Türkiye Pavilion side-event applications closed on 14 August 2026.⁵

4. Support programmes

KOSGEB, Türkiye's SME agency, opened the 2026-01 COP31 Acceleration Call to prepare innovative firms in clean energy, the circular economy, sustainable agriculture and climate tech for global markets.⁶ Applications ran 9–30 August 2026 and were open to technology-centre (TEKMER) operators and technopark management companies, not SMEs directly. Programmes cover at least 10 firms and include activities at COP31 in Antalya — so ask your local TEKMER or technopark whether it was selected.

5. The business case for transformation

COP31 is an event; the transformation behind it is permanent. Key drivers reaching SMEs directly or via supply chains:

• Türkiye's Climate Law and Emissions Trading System, in force since 2025⁷
• The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), in its definitive phase since 1 January 2026⁸
• Sustainability reporting by large companies, which increases their data requests to suppliers⁹

See Climate regulation and CBAM for details.

A 7-step checklist for SMEs

1. Find your theme among the ten Action Agenda themes.
2. Mark your day — especially 16 November.
3. Quantify your story — energy, waste, water or emission cuts in numbers.
4. Gather your documents — ISO 14001, ISO 50001, carbon footprint reports.
5. Talk to your chamber and follow its COP31 announcements.
6. Register for the Green Zone — even as a visitor, be there to network.
7. Be visible — share your activities on a free SME profile.