Australia will not block Turkey bid to host climate conference
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that Australia will not block Türkiye’s bid to host the COP climate conference next year and is turning its attention to pushing for Pacific countries to benefit from the event.
Both Australia and Türkiye are competing under rules that require unanimously selecting a destination to host the event; That raises the prospect that the event will return to Bonn, Germany, in a scenario Albanese said in Western Australia on Tuesday was bad for climate unity.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s move to reject the veto means Türkiye will host the COP if it insists on its bid and no other country intervenes.Credit: Sam Mooy
Albanese said Australia would advocate for a separate meeting of leaders on climate change in the Pacific and for more money for a resilience fund for the region if Türkiye hosts the main event.
“The way the system works is that if there is no agreement and there is more than one candidate, the matter goes to Bonn,” Albanese said.
“There is significant concern, not just in the Pacific but internationally, that this will not send a good signal about the unity needed for the world to take climate action.
“If Australia is not elected and Türkiye is elected, we will not try to veto it.”
Turkey and Australia have been negotiating for months over which country will host the world’s biggest climate conference next year, including the last two weeks of global talks held this year in Belem, Brazil.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been on the ground since the weekend, defending Australia’s bid in concert with Pacific nations already facing serious consequences from climate change.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan refuses to give up his bid for the event.
