Anthony Albanese has said Australia will not stand in the way of Turkey hosting next year’s Cop31 climate summit, insisting the interests of Pacific Island countries should be prioritised amid a deadlock over where the 2026 event should take place.
As this year’s Cop summit enters its final days in Brazil, Albanese said Australia wanted to win the hosting rights, but conceded the risk of the event defaulting to Germany would present a poor outcome for global action on climate change.
Hosting rights are decided through consensus rules, and as long as both Australia and Turkey stay in the race to host, United Nations rules require the event to take place in Bonn, the home of the organisation’s host agency.
Speaking during a visit to Perth on Tuesday night, Albanese said Australia wanted a stand-alone leaders meeting to take place in the Pacific as part of concessions from Turkey, and for countries to commit more money to a fund for climate change resilience.
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The fund is designed to help poorer countries on the frontline of climate damage.
“The way that the system works is that if there is not agreement, and there’s more than one candidate, it goes to Bonn,” Albanese said.
“There is considerable concern, not just from the Pacific, but internationally as well, that that will not send a good signal about the unity that’s needed for the world to act on climate.
“And if Australia is not chosen, if Turkey is chosen, we wouldn’t seek to veto that.”
But later on Tuesday night, a government spokesperson insisted the race was still on, noting Turkey had not been chosen as host and that Australia has the overwhelming support of countries.
“Turkey shouldn’t block us, just as we wouldn’t block them if the situation were reversed,” the spokesperson said.
“But of course we will continue to negotiate with Turkey in good faith for an outcome in the best interests of the Pacific and our national interest.”
Australia has at least 23 votes among the critical 28-country Western European and Others group, whose turn it is to host the summit. But Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has refused to withdraw or compromise on the hosting rights.
Guardian Australia revealed in September Turkey was pursuing “innovative solutions” in the race with Australia, arguing both countries could win from drawn-out negotiations. But that plan was not taken up by Albanese and the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen.
Bowen has pursued a dogged diplomatic strategy with Ankara, even lobbying Turkey’s first lady, Emine Erdoğan, on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York.
A longtime environmental campaigner, Erdoğan is considered important to her husband’s push to host the summit in Antalya, the resort city where world leaders met for the 2015 G20 summit.
Bowen is representing Australia in Brazi and only hours before Albanese’s comments had restated Australia’s desire to host the event in Adelaide, in concert with Pacific countries.
“In hosting Cop31, we want to bring the world to our region to see the impacts of climate change and bring the world’s best innovators and businesses to invest in solutions,” he said.
The event is expected to cost more than $1bn and is understood to have mixed support within federal cabinet.
Albanese could meet Erdoğan on the sidelines of world leaders’ talks at the G20 summit in South Africa next week.
