Global renewable energy investment crossed $2.2 trillion in 2025 — and the world’s next major climate summit is heading to a country that quietly built its way into the top ten for wind power.
In Ankara this week, two industry bodies formalized a partnership with COP31 in their sights. What they’re preparing could shape how governments worldwide respond to the energy transition — not just in Türkiye, but across the wider region where Europe, Asia, and the Middle East converge.
A summit with an unusual host
COP31 will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9–20, 2026, co-hosted with Australia — an arrangement that signals something different about this year’s climate summit. Türkiye sits at a geographic crossroads, bridging Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. That position isn’t purely symbolic. It makes the country a potential hub for regional energy infrastructure at a moment when transmission networks and cross-border electricity flows are becoming central to the transition conversation.
The backdrop matters. In April 2026, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on governments to “respond to the energy crisis without deepening the climate crisis,” urging a step-change in renewable energy investment. Global renewables investment reached $2.2 trillion in 2025 — a record that sets a high bar for what COP31 is expected to build on.
Türkiye’s wind rise: from regional player to global top ten
Türkiye’s presence at the center of COP31 isn’t simply a matter of geography. The country has earned its place in the wind energy conversation. With nearly 16 GW of installed wind capacity, it now ranks among the top ten countries globally for wind power — a position few would have predicted a decade ago.
In 2025 alone, Türkiye added 2.1 GW of new wind capacity, the second-highest addition on the European continent, according to GWEC’s 2026 Global Wind Report. That pace of growth reflects both strong domestic policy support and a maturing industry capable of delivering at scale.
The Turkish government has set a target of 120 GW of combined wind and solar by 2035, requiring an estimated $80 billion in investment. The roadmap includes regular auctions delivering at least 2 GW of new renewables per year. Officials have signaled that even this target may be revised upward in the coming months — an indication that industry appetite is outpacing existing policy frameworks.
A formal alliance forged in Ankara
The partnership between GWEC and TÜREB was announced at the conclusion of the 15th Turkish Wind Energy Congress in Ankara. The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding committing them to coordinated action in the lead-up to COP31.
Under the agreement, GWEC and TÜREB will work together to build a cross-sectoral advocacy coalition, share information, organize joint events, and engage directly with the COP31 Presidency and key Turkish institutional stakeholders. The goal is to ensure wind energy is formally recognized as a central pillar of the renewables and electrification transition at the summit — not a side conversation, but a headline outcome.
“With the world facing unprecedented climate and energy security crises, our two organisations are combining forces to ensure wind energy is recognised at COP31 as a central pillar of the renewables and electrification transition,” said GWEC CEO Ben Backwell and TÜREB Chairman İbrahim Erden in a joint statement.
What the wind industry wants from COP31
The industry’s ask is straightforward: an ambitious, internationally agreed plan to accelerate wind and other renewables should be the top priority for every government attending the summit. That framing — renewables as the answer to both climate and energy security — is deliberate, reflecting a shift in how the sector makes its case to policymakers.
Two specific barriers sit at the top of the agenda. Grid and transmission network buildout remains a bottleneck in markets across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Alongside that, the industry is pushing for sustained long-term investment — not isolated capital flows, but durable financing frameworks capable of underpinning decades of deployment.
Türkiye’s relationships across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe give it a credible role as a regional connector. GWEC’s 2026 Global Wind Report recorded a record 40% rise in global wind installations, giving the industry genuine momentum heading into Antalya. That data point matters: it gives negotiators something concrete to build on.
Beyond the summit: a lasting legacy
GWEC and TÜREB are framing COP31 as a potential “historic crossroads” — a moment where the world can choose between repeating past failures or accelerating the transition. The language echoes Guterres’ own framing, and the alignment is intentional. Positioning alongside the UN’s call gives the partnership both political cover and rhetorical force.
Both organizations are clear, though, that the partnership is designed to outlast the summit itself. Sharing knowledge and best practices across Central Asia, the Middle East, and beyond is built into the memorandum of understanding as an ongoing commitment. This isn’t a one-event arrangement.
The stakes are concrete. A strong outcome at COP31 could unlock further investment and policy commitments for wind across emerging markets still early in their renewable energy development. What to watch between now and November: whether the advocacy coalition GWEC and TÜREB are assembling can bring enough governments to the table to turn industry ambition into binding commitments — and whether Türkiye’s hosting role translates into the durable policy momentum the sector is counting on.
