Three young New Zealanders are among about 80,000 people heading to COP31, the world’s biggest climate change meeting. It started in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November 2026.
The United Nations holds COP every year, and countries meet there to work out how to tackle climate change. Ataria MacDonald, Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i and Aditi Tiwari are all in their twenties, and they aren’t part of New Zealand’s official government team. Instead, they’re going as “civil society” delegates, who speak up for communities and groups pushing for climate action.
MacDonald (Ngāti Manuhiri), 26, manages seafood farming projects for her iwi. She says one big worry is mud and sediment washing into the Hauraki Gulf (Tīkapa Moana), which gets worse with bigger storms and heavier rain. Some oyster farmers in the area can no longer make a living from it.
Fepulea’i-Tapua’i, 23, started the youth climate group 4 Tha Kulture while she was still a student at Aorere College in Māngere. She wants Pacific voices to be heard clearly at the meeting. “The Pacific is not just a nice to have,” she said.
Tiwari, 26, lives just a kilometre from the Pāuatahanui Inlet in Porirua. This year she helped plant 10,000 native plants there to protect the shoreline. She’s paying her own way to Türkiye with help from crowdfunding, raffles, whānau and friends. While she’s there, she’ll share a statement written by young people at Aotearoa’s Youth COP, which was held in Auckland in September.
COP31 runs until 20 November 2026.
SMART Prep | Quick Question 
