By Atoyebi Nike
Turkey will host the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference following a compromise agreement with Australia that resolves weeks of deadlock over the summit’s leadership.
Announced on Wednesday at COP30 in Belém, the deal allows Turkey to stage the physical event while Australia holds the COP31 presidency and leads all formal negotiations. As president, Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen will appoint co-facilitators, draft negotiation texts, and issue the final decision document.
A pre-COP meeting will be held in a Pacific Island nation to serve as a pledging event for the Pacific Resilience Fund. Bowen said the arrangement preserves the credibility of the UN climate process and prevents the summit from defaulting to Bonn, Germany.
The compromise mirrors the Fiji-Germany arrangement for COP23 in 2017, with hosting and negotiation leadership split between two countries. Turkey’s role may attract scrutiny due to its ties to fossil fuel-producing states, while Australia’s leadership has drawn criticism from environmental groups over its climate record.
COP31 is expected to focus on fossil fuel phase-out pathways, climate finance for vulnerable nations, and implementing commitments from COP30. Preparations will begin in Turkey, with Australia overseeing negotiations and the Pacific hosting the pre-COP event.
