Turkey set to host COP31 as Australia steps aside

The COP31 climate meeting is now expected to be held in Turkey after Australia dropped its bid to host the annual event.

Under the UN rules, the right to host the COP in 2026 falls to a group of countries made up of Western Europe, Australia and others.

A consensus must be reached but neither country had been willing to concede. Australia has now agreed to support the Turkish bid in return for their minister chairing the talks following negotiations at COP30, currently being held in Brazil.

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.

However, there will be relief among countries meeting here 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 COP 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 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 in Belém, 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. Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen will be its president.