Australia cedes COP31 but negotiates role for Chris Bowen and Pacific countries

Australia has ceded next year’s United Nations climate conference – COP 31 – to Turkey, but has negotiated a fall back that gives Climate Minister Chris Bowen a prominent role.

Under the arrangement, Australia has also secured a pre-COP meeting to be held in the Pacific.

While the failure to obtain the COP – which was to be held in Adelaide – will be seen as a major blow by the climate lobby, some in the Albanese government will privately welcome it. The cost of the COP was being estimated at least A$1 billion and possibly $2 billion, and enthusiasm for it in senior levels of the government had been declining in recent months.

Turkey and Australia have been deadlocked for months over the hosting of the climate meeting, which attracts tens of thousands of people. Australia had the support of most other countries for its bid, but under the rules of the conference Turkey had to withdraw for Australia to succeed. Turkey refused to give way. If there was no resolution the conference would have defaulted to Bonn in Germany.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday described the outcome as an “outstanding result”.

“COP31 will be hosted by Turkiye. Turkiye will have the COP presidency, but Chris Bowen and Australia will have the COP presidency for negotiations in the lead-up to the conference in Turkiye but also at the conference in Turkiye,” he said.

He said there would be a pre-COP meeting held in the Pacific “at a location to be determined by our Pacific family friends”.

“And that will enable us to invite world leaders to make sure that the issues confronting this region – the very existence of island states such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, the issue of our oceans - all of those issues will be front and centre,” Albanese said.

Bowen, who is at the current COP meeting in Brazil and has been negotiating with Turkey, said it was important to strike an agreement with that country.

He knew some people would be disappointed with the outcome but other people would have been “more disappointed if it had gone to Bonn without a COP president in place”.

“As COP President of Negotiations, I would have all the powers of COP presidency to manage, to handle the negotiations, to appoint co-facilitators, to prepare draft text, and to issue the cover decision.”