Turkey will finally host the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in 2026 after Australia decided to withdraw its bid and back Ankara’s bid to hold the meeting in Antalya, in exchange for Canberra taking over the presidency of the conference. The deal, which Australia had initially opposed, ends months of deadlock within the UN regional group tasked with selecting the venue for the next climate change summit.
Under UN rules, the 2026 summit was to be hosted by the Western Europe and Others Group, to which both Australia and Türkiye belong. However, both countries had insisted on their aspiration to host the event next year, preventing the necessary consensus.
Turkish media reported, however, that negotiations held during COP30 in Belém, Brazil, resulted in an unusual agreement: Turkey will host the conference in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, while Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen will serve as COP31 president and lead the talks. In addition, a preparatory meeting will be held in the Pacific region, focusing on financing to prevent climate change and its consequences.
COP30, which opened on 10 November in Belém, concludes tomorrow and both Turkey and Australia had to conclude an agreement by 21 November: otherwise Germany would have had to host the 2026 summit as Bonn is the administrative seat of the World Climate Conference.
“Is a big win for both Australia and Turkey“
Speaking to public broadcaster ABC Radio Perth, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that an agreement had been reached for Chris Bowen (Minister for Climate Change) to be the “president of the COP for the purposes of negotiations”. Albanese explained that the conference will be held in Turkey and that there will be a meeting in the Pacific before COP 2026 specifically focused on climate finance in the region, called the Pacific Resilience Fund.
“What we’ve come up with is a big win for both Australia and Turkey,” he stressed. Bowen himself noted that Ankara and Canberra had to reach an agreement to avoid “12 months with a lack of leadership, no COP president in place, no plan”: “I know some people will be disappointed in that outcome… Other people, of course, would be even more disappointed if it had gone to Bonn without a COP president in place. This is a better outcome than that”.
The compromise reached has in fact sparked criticism in several Pacific countries. Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister, Justin Tkatchenko, said he was “disappointed with the outcome”, given that many islands in the 18-nation regional alliance face an existential risk from rising sea levels due to global warming, and wanted to see Australia host the next summit.
The deal also breaks with tradition, as climate summit presidents usually come from the host country, and it remains to be seen whether the sharing of responsibilities between Turkey and Australia will work. Despite the doubts, diplomats gathered at COP30 appreciated the fact that a consensus was finally reached to host COP31, avoiding further delays and potential embarrassment for the UN-driven climate change negotiating process.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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