Nov. 20 (UPI) — The main location for next year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP31, will be held in Turkey after leaders at this year’s meeting reached a compromise.
Australia dropped its bid to host next year’s event, compromising with Turkey to allow the country to host the meeting while an Australian minister will chair the meeting.
Australian leaders were disappointed that Turkey pushed to host the meeting — although they will still host a pre-COP meeting — but felt that reaching “consensus” was worth the move.
“It is really disappointing that Turkey’s expression to veto the will of the rest of the world to have the event here has resulted in this outcome because we would have done it really well and everyone knows that,” South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskus told reporters in Adelaide, Australia.
“But the fact that everybody knows it is a good legacy to have,” he said.
Australian climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen, who is at COP30 this year, in Belem, Brazil, called the compromise a “significant concession” on Australia’s part, but said that Turkey was no different because they agreed to let Australia hold the COP presidency next yer.
Australia had been pushing for the meeting because its leaders had hoped to co-host with other Pacific island states that are considered especially vulnerable to climate change and its outcomes, the BBC reported.
According to reports, the deal included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan working together to make the deal.
Turkey, which will now host COP31 next year in the city of Antalya, noted while pushing to host COP31 noted that it compromised in 2021 to allow the United Kingdom to host the meeting in Glasgow.
Had Australia and Turkey not come to an agreement by the end of this year’s meeting, it automatically would have been held in Bonn, Germany, and there would not have been a president named for COP.
Bowen, who will be COP president, called the compromise outcome acceptable so that the groups’ work coordinating efforts between countries and planning for the next meeting can continue.
“That would mean 12 months with a lack of leadership, no COP president in place, no plan – that would be irresponsible for multilateralism in this challenging environment,” he said.
The hosting deal still must be ratified by the 190 countries who have sent Representatives to COP30, but experts said they expected it would be approved considering the negotiations it took to reach a deal.
