Haiti Sends Large Delegation to COP31 Climate Summit in Turkey

Haiti's Ministry of the Environment announced the country's participation in the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), held from November 9 to 20, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey, according to haitilibre.com. The delegation is led by Environment Minister Valéry Fils-Aimé, with Rockendy René serving as deputy head of delegation. The team includes technical staff, official negotiators and representatives from the ministries of Public Health; Economy and Finance; Agriculture; and the Status of Women, along with the Directorate General of Civil Protection, the National Solid Waste Management Service, the National Agency for Protected Areas, and civil society. The ministry said its technical and financial partners are covering all mission costs, with no expenditure for the Haitian Public Treasury. Haiti plans to advocate for increased and simplified access to climate finance, particularly for adaptation and loss and damage, prioritizing non-debt-creating instruments and maintaining the 1.5°C warming goal. The country will push for resources to implement its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) and National Adaptation Plan. The agenda includes an address by the minister during the high-level segment and Haiti's signing of the first global political commitment to protect climate-resilient coral reefs. On November 16, Haiti will host a side event at the CARICOM pavilion on Caribbean climate finance, featuring the environment ministers of Haiti and Belize.