Türkiye set to host COP31 climate summit, Australia to lead government talks

BELEM, Brazil: Türkiye will host next year's UN climate summit while Australia will lead the conference's negotiations among governments, under a compromise deal taking shape in talks in Brazil, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday (Nov 20). The annual COP conferences are the world's main forum for driving climate action. The compromise would resolve a stand-off between Australia and Türkiye over who would stage COP31. Both bid in 2022 to host it and refused to stand down. The two sides were now close to a deal that would see Türkiye hosting COP31 as summit president, with a pre-COP event staged in the Pacific and Australia as president of negotiations, Albanese said. "What we've come up with is a big win for both Australia and Türkiye," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp Radio. The two nations now have just a year to prepare for an event that attracts tens of thousands of people and requires months of diplomatic legwork to reach consensus around climate goals. "There's a little way to go in these discussions," Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told reporters at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, adding that the compromise would achieve Australia's aims. "It would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can't have it all," he said. "It was important to strike an agreement." The Turkish government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.