Few weeks ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, African civil society organisations are taking a step forward to consolidate messages that raise African community voices.
In the same move, the Pan-African Climate Justice (PACJA), through its Ivorian Designated platform (PACJA-CI), convened a one-day pre-COP31 workshop in September 2025 in Abidjan. The purpose of the workshop was to prepare Civil society organisations and other non-state actors for informed and active participation in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31).
Held at the Directorate-General for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, the one-day meeting brought together stakeholders to discuss key priorities for climate negotiations, climate finance, carbon markets, and opportunities for collaboration in implementing national climate commitments.
Scheduled in Antalya from 9-20 November, 2026, COP31 comes at a critical moment when there is a need to translate global climate commitments into concrete, measurable and verifiable action.
Against this backdrop, the COP31 workshop in Côte d’Ivoire provided a platform for dialogue and knowledge sharing among civil society organisations, local authorities, media representatives and technical and institutional partners working on climate change.
The convening presented and enriched PACJA’s positions on key negotiating issues for COP31 and COP32, while strengthening civil society’s understanding of its role in implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). In this workshop, participants also explored developments in Côte d’Ivoire’s carbon market, potential benefits for civil society organisations, and opportunities for cooperation between civil society and the private sector.
Discussions were organised around four thematic presentations addressing the role of civil society in NDC implementation, opportunities within the carbon market, collaboration between CSOs and the private sector in tackling climate change, and the need to combine efforts to address climate change and desertification.
The Directorate for Combating Climate Change, the Côte d’Ivoire Carbon Market Office and the national investment bank contributed technical perspectives to the discussions. The session on climate change and desertification further highlighted the importance of synergies between environmental action and sustainable development.
A key component of the workshop was the representation of PACJA’s position on COP31 and COP31 negotiating priorities by the national coordinator, followed by an open discussion to gather stakeholders’ views and strengthen collective perspectives ahead of the negotiations.