COP31 Applications Are Open: Australia’s $20,000 Travel Grants and Pavilion Slots, Explained
In brief
- Australia has opened two public routes into COP31, the UN climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye (9–20 November 2026): travel grants of up to $20,000 and event slots in the Australian Pavilion.
- The Travel Support Program prioritises young people aged 18–35, First Nations Australians, and regional and underrepresented communities. Applications close Monday 27 July.
- Pavilion event proposals — for talks, panels and showcases seen by a global audience — close Friday 31 July. Both are free to apply.
COP summits have a reputation problem: they look like closed rooms for ministers and negotiators. This month, Australia — which shares the COP31 presidency and leads its negotiations — did something unusual about that. It opened two doors to the public, and both are wide enough for students, researchers, community organisers and founders to walk through.
What is the COP31 Travel Support Program?
The first door is money. The Travel Support Program offers grants of up to $20,000 to cover travel, accommodation and participation costs for COP31 in Antalya. It exists to fix a real injustice of climate diplomacy: the people most affected by climate change are usually the least able to afford a seat in the room. The program explicitly welcomes young people aged 18 to 35, First Nations Australians, and applicants from regional communities and other groups underrepresented at COP.
Applications are open now on the Australian Government’s grants portal and close Monday 27 July — a tight window, so eligible applicants should start immediately. The full eligibility criteria are set out in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines on GrantConnect.
What is an Australian Pavilion event proposal?
The second door is a stage. National pavilions are where much of a COP actually happens — the panels, launches and debates that run all day alongside the formal negotiations. Australia is inviting organisations and individuals to propose events, discussions or content for its COP31 Pavilion program.
The themes named in the call map closely to what the summit itself will fight over: accelerating the clean energy transition and electrification, the Ocean–Climate nexus, access to finance, Pacific partnership, and elevating Youth and First Nations climate leadership. Proposals that foster collaboration with the Pacific are singled out for welcome. Submissions close Friday 31 July, and each proposed event needs its own form.
One conversation at a COP can become a partnership. One idea can become a program. The hard part has always been getting in the door — and this month, the door is open.
Why does this COP matter more than most?
COP31 is the first summit run under a twin presidency — Türkiye hosting, Australia presiding over negotiations — with a deliberate “Pacific COP” identity: a pre-COP in Fiji and a leaders’ event in Tuvalu come first. It is billed as an implementation summit, where the new round of national climate plans meets the $1.3 trillion climate-finance roadmap. Voices from outside the ministerial bubble — researchers, young leaders, island communities — are not decoration at a COP like this. They are the constituency the whole “Pacific COP” framing claims to serve.
If you have been waiting for a signal to take your climate work to the global stage, this is the least ambiguous one you will get this year. Both applications are free. The deadlines are July 27 and July 31. Start today.
