Taliban Barred from COP31 Talks Amid Dispute Over UN Invitation

DID Press: A delegation from the Taliban’s National Environmental Protection Agency will not attend the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Türkiye because it has not received an official invitation from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to a report by Harit Radio, a media outlet affiliated with the Taliban.

Harit Radio reported that Türkiye, the host country, had invited the Taliban authorities to attend as guests. However, the absence of a formal invitation from the UN climate convention has prevented representatives of the group from participating in the conference.

COP31 opened in Antalya on November 9 and is scheduled to run until November 20. The Taliban attended a UN climate conference only once before, as guests at COP29 in Baku in 2024. The group was also unable to attend COP30 in Brazil last year.

The reported exclusion comes as Afghanistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, despite contributing only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The country’s heavy reliance on agriculture, recurring droughts, floods and climate-related displacement, compounded by its economic and political crises, have increased the vulnerability of its population and deepened the humanitarian crisis.