SYDNEY, Nov 17 — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today said Canberra would not co-host the COP31 climate summit with Ankara amid an ongoing stalemate with Turkey over which one should stage the conference next year.
Turkey has proposed jointly leading next year’s United Nations climate summit with Australia and the discussions on the hosting standoff remain unresolved, Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters yesterday.
“No, we won’t be co-hosting because co-hosting isn’t provided for under the rules of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change),” Albanese said during a media briefing in Melbourne.
“That’s not an option and people are aware that it is not an option, which is why it has been ruled out.”
If no compromise, summit defaults to Germany
The annual COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the world’s main forum for driving climate action, but it has grown over the years from diplomatic gatherings into vast trade shows where host countries can promote economic prospects.
The host matters as they set the agenda and lead the diplomacy needed to reach global agreements.
Australia and Turkey both submitted bids in 2022 to host COP31 and neither has withdrawn, leading to an attention-sapping impasse that must be overcome at this year’s COP30 meeting currently taking place in Belem, Brazil.
Letters exchanged in recent weeks between Albanese and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan have not resolved things and appear to have entrenched positions.
UN rules require unanimity among the 28-strong “Western Europe and Others Group” bloc, whose turn it is to host COP31 and which includes Australia and Turkey. If neither Australia nor Turkey compromises, hosting duties would default to Bonn in Germany, which houses the UN climate headquarters.
German officials have said they do not want to host it.
A Turkish diplomatic source familiar with the matter said Ankara had supported a framework in which Australia would host a gathering of leaders just ahead of COP31 with a focus on the Pacific island nations, which are at risk of rising seas.
Later, Turkey would host the main event with both sides jointly determining the agenda under the proposal initially discussed between the sides, the source said.
Turkey’s foreign ministry and Erdogan’s office did not immediately comment on the joint framework proposal.
Leaders exchanged letters outlining visions
Australia proposed to host the summit with the Pacific island nations for the first time. A regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia’s bid.
At COP30 in Belem today, climate minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said Norway supported Australia’s bid in part because it would highlight the challenges faced by the Pacific, where climate challenges “are hitting especially hard”.
Albanese this month wrote to Erdogan in an attempt to resolve the tussle.
In response, the Turkish diplomatic source said, Erdogan wrote a letter dated November 10 to Albanese again urging compromise on the “joint-presidency” proposal but also noting Turkey was ready to stand by its solo bid.
Australia’s climate change minister Chris Bowen arrived in Belem yesterday, which “has been a shot in the arm for Australia’s bid”, said Thom Woodroofe, a senior fellow with the Smart Energy Council in Australia.
Woodroofe said it would be difficult for Australia and Turkey to co-host COP31 given the two countries have very different priorities, but added that Australia should find a way to accommodate Turkey’s desire to lead.
