The Champion is the person appointed by the host country to mobilise everyone who is not a government: companies, investors, cities, regions and civil society. For COP31 it is Samed Ağırbaş, chairman of Türkiye’s Zero Waste Foundation.
Governments negotiate, but most of what actually cuts emissions is done by people with no seat in the room. The Champion role exists to connect those two worlds. It was created by the Paris decision in 2015, runs on two-year terms, and works through the Marrakech Partnership, which is the formal home of what the UN calls the Global Climate Action Agenda.
Türkiye appointed Ağırbaş in January 2026. His day job matters for reading COP31: the Zero Waste Foundation is the organisation behind Türkiye’s national zero waste programme, and zero waste is the published theme of 11 November, the day the Leaders Summit opens. A Champion’s own subject tends to get more room in the two weeks, and this one is no exception.