COP31 Public Lecture

About the Event

Global leaders and international stakeholders are meeting for COP31, the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, Türkiye in November 2026, at a time when multilateralism and international law are facing significant geopolitical and economic crises and fragmentation. Escalating military conflicts, rising energy vulnerabilities, trade and financial shocks, and intensifying competition over trade, technology and critical resources are reshaping the political space for cooperation and the material capacity of states to deliver ambitious climate action. These pressures are particularly acute for developing countries, which confront rising climate impacts alongside constrained access to affordable finance, technology and policy space.

This lecture examines what is at stake for the UN climate process in this challenging global context, especially for countries and communities who are least responsible for, but who bear the greatest impact of climate change. The lecture will consider the main issues at stake in Antalya, what challenges will be confronted in negotiation halls and beyond, and the role and importance the multilateral climate regime in the current global context.

The lecture is organised by the GLOBE Centre, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and the University of Warwick Multilateral Engagement Action Group (MEAG).

About the Speakers

Vicente Paolo Yu is Honorary Professorial Fellow at the GLOBE Centre, Warwick Law School Link opens in a new windowand Visiting Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)Link opens in a new window, University of Warwick. He is a Senior Legal Advisor with the Third World Network, Senior Lecturer, University of the Philippines College of Law, Visiting Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Mr Yu has decades of experience with trade and climate negotiations and has worked with governments, UN agencies NGOs on global governance, climate change, investment, South-South cooperation, and sustainable development issues.

About the Discussants:

Dr Anil Yilmaz Vastardis is Senior Lecturer at Essex Law School and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. She is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the GLOBE Centre, Warwick Law School and a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Ben Clift is Professor of Political Economy, Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS), University of Warwick.