Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Australia would not co-host the COP31 climate summit with Türkiye amid an ongoing stalemate between the two countries over which one should stage the conference next year.
Türkiye has proposed jointly leading next year's UN climate summit with Australia and the discussions on the hosting standoff remain unresolved, Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters on Sunday.
"No, we won't be co-hosting because co-hosting isn't provided for under the rules of the (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)," Albanese said during a media briefing in Melbourne.
"So that's not an option and people are aware that it is not an option, which is why it has been ruled out."
Australia and Türkiye both submitted bids in 2022 to host COP31 and neither has withdrawn, leading to an attention-sapping impasse that must be overcome at this year's COP30 meeting currently taking place in Belem, Brazil.
Australia's climate change minister Chris Bowen arrived in Belem on Sunday, 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 Türkiye to co-host COP31 given the two countries have very different priorities, but added that Australia should find a way to accommodate Türkiye’s desire to lead.
UN rules require unanimity among the 28-strong group of countries whose turn it is to host COP31. If neither Australia nor Türkiye compromises, hosting duties would default to Bonn in Germany, which houses the UN's climate headquarters.
German officials have said they do not want to host.
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 because they set the agenda and lead the diplomacy needed to reach global agreements.
Albanese this month wrote to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an attempt to resolve the tussle as he pushes to host the summit with Pacific island nations for the first time.
A regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia's bid. Several Pacific island nations are at risk from rising seas.
