After a long and deadlocked bidding process for Australia and Pacific Island nations to co-host the UN climate summit (COP31), the event will now be hosted by Turkey. Australia’s Climate Minister, Chris Bowen, will reportedly take a key role as “COP President for negotiations”. More details are yet to emerge.
The announcement is more complex than expected, even for the often labyrinthine world of global, multilateral event negotiations. But what will this arrangement mean for Australia’s commitment to partnering with Pacific nations in delivering COP31?
COP31 was expected by many to be the first “Pacific COP”, offering Australia an opportunity to rebuild its credibility on climate action and support Pacific island nations on the frontline of the climate crisis. The challenge of the original COP31 bid was always how to ensure it wasn’t an Australian summit with symbolic Pacific participation. Now, the situation is even more complex.
