KUTSO/ Güral Argat "The problem is not lack of willingness, but being able to turn the willingness into investment"

Esin Güral Argat, KUTSO board chair and co-head of the COP31 Business Forum’s Working Group on Emerging Economies and SMEs, told international delegates in Antalya that SMEs’ green transition is blocked less by unwillingness than by an inability to convert intent into investment. She presented three working-group proposals to address the barriers SMEs face. The remarks matter because small firms are central to decarbonizing emerging economies, yet lack the financing and capacity to act. Watch for whether the proposals gain traction as COP31 negotiations move from working-group discussion to formal commitments.