MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman is preparing to participate in the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), scheduled to be held in the city of Antalya, Republic of Türkiye, from November 9-20.
The Sultanate of Oman's participation in the conference, which is considered one of the most prominent international forums concerned with climate action.
The event comes at a time when global efforts are directed toward accelerating the implementation of climate commitments and pledges, enhancing the transition to clean energy, developing the circular economy, green manufacturing, and climate finance, as well as building ecosystems and infrastructure more capable of confronting the impacts of climate change.
The Environment Authority is working to enhance national participation readiness through coordination among supervision and governance, negotiation, media, Oman’s pavilion, youth, innovation, indicators, and logistical support teams, ensuring the integration of efforts and highlighting national initiatives and climate priorities of the Sultanate of Oman during the conference sessions.
Omani participation rests upon a set of environmental indicators and achievements, most notably the Sultanate of Oman's advancement by 6 positions in the Global Environmental Performance Index for 2026 to rank 49th globally, compared to 55th in 2024.
Oman also ranked first globally in 6 sub-indicators within the Environmental Performance Index for 2026, which included household solid fuel consumption, sustainable solid waste management, wastewater treatment, species habitats, reduction of open-water trawling, and the trend in sulphur dioxide emission reduction.
The circular economy sector witnessed development in the waste management system and its economic utilisation, with the volume of recycled municipal solid waste reaching 1.77 million tonnes nationally, while the number of recycling factories reached 85, alongside achieving 100 per cent in the safe management of solid waste and coverage of its transport and collection services.
The proportion of marine reserves within the Exclusive Economic Zone rose to 16.19 percent compared to a baseline of 0.33 per cent, exceeding the target set for 2030, while forest area reached 1.5 per cent of total land area compared to a baseline of 0.01 per cent, achieving the target set for 2030.
The number of natural reserves in Oman increased to 32 reserves during 2025, with a total area of approximately 187,276 square kilometres. Investments associated with reserves exceeded RO 44 million through 9 investment contracts across 7 reserves, enhancing the sustainable utilisation of natural assets and supporting investment opportunities in environmental activities.
Oman continues to implement blue carbon projects by targeting the cultivation of 100 million mangrove trees over an area reaching 20,000 hectares, with estimates of removing nearly 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, as part of efforts aimed at enhancing the capacity of coastal ecosystems to absorb carbon emissions and contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Omani environmental efforts received regional and international recognition, including an Arab honour in the Arab Excellence Award for 2025 in appreciation of leadership efforts in enhancing institutional environmental action and supporting sustainability programmes, alongside the inclusion of the Chairman of the Environment Authority in Forbes' list of sustainability leaders for 2024 in recognition of his efforts in developing environmental work and advancing sustainability pathways.
The Environment Authority achieved sixth place in the evaluation of the National Cybersecurity Index for 2024, and the Environmental Information Bank project won the Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Award at the government entity level in the same year.
Institutional achievements for 2025 included the honouring of the government platform linked to the 'Bayan' system, as well as the open data team being recognised for the third time for providing the largest number of open datasets on the national portal, reflecting advancement in deploying modern technologies and managing data within the environmental work system.
These indicators and achievements reflect the progress achieved by the Sultanate of Oman in developing its environmental policies and enhancing integration between natural resource protection and economic development, supporting its direction toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and solidifying its presence in international efforts to address climate challenges.
It is expected that Omani participation in the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) will constitute an opportunity to showcase the national experience in environmental sustainability, green economy, and biodiversity protection, as well as to strengthen international cooperation, partnerships, and the exchange of expertise and technologies, thereby contributing to supporting the implementation of climate commitments, achieving national priorities, and continuing the Omani contribution to global climate change efforts. — ONA
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