Belem (Imran Y. CHOUDHRY):- Australia will not hold next year’s UN climate summit, Australia will allow Türkiye to host COP31 next year but Australia will lead negotiations there.
Climate Minister Chris Bowen revealing Australia was willing to cede hosting rights to Türkiye in exchange for it handing him the reins of the negotiations and cementing a major role for the Pacific at the summit.
There had been a growing expectation that Australia would drop its bid to host COP31 in Adelaide as it struggled to convince Türkiye to pull out of the contest.
Under UN rules, if the two countries were unable to strike a deal, then the meeting location would automatically revert to Germany, which hosts the United Nations body responsible for the Paris Agreement.
This unusual arrangement has taken observers by surprise. It is normal for a COP president to be from the host country and how this new partnership will work in practice remains to be seen.
Despite this, there will be relief among countries currently meeting at COP30 in the Brazilian city of Belém that a compromise has been reached as the lack of agreement on the venue was becoming an embarrassment for the UN.
Australia has pushed hard to have the climate summit in the city of Adelaide, arguing that they would co-host the meeting with Pacific island states who are seen as among the most vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels.
Turkey, which has proposed hosting COP31 in the city of Antalya, felt that they had a good claim to be the host country as they had stood aside in 2021 and allowed the UK to hold the meeting in Glasgow.
If neither country was willing to compromise then the meeting would have been held in the German city of Bonn, the headquarters of the UN’s climate body.
As a result of discussions at COP30, a compromise appears to have been reached.
This includes pre-COP meeting will be held on a Pacific island, while the main event is held in Turkey.
Australian Minister believes having a COP president not from the host country will work and that he will have the considerable authority reserved for the president of these gatherings. As COP president of negotiations, I would have all the powers of the COP presidency to manage, to handle the negotiations, to appoint co-facilitators, to prepare draft text, to issue the cover decision,” he said.
He also confirmed to Turkey will also appoint a president who will run the venue, organise the meetings and schedules.
Australia’s climbdown will be embarrassing for the government of Mr Albanese, after lobbying long and hard to win support among the other nations in the Western Europe group.
The compromise will have to be ratified by more than 190 countries gathered here for COP30 in Belem, Brazil.
Photos @ Imran Y. CHOUDHRY