Australia Loses Bid to Host COP31, Pacific Leaders Express Disappointment

Pacific climate leaders are expressing their disappointment following Australia’s failure to secure the bid to host the United Nations Climate Conference, COP31, scheduled for 2026. The decision sees the prestigious event moving to Türkiye, despite Australia’s years-long campaign to bring it to the region.

Surangel Whipps Jr., President of Palau, voiced his deep disappointment over the outcome, emphasizing the significance of a Pacific-hosted COP. He stated that such an event was essential to highlight the critical relationship between climate change and ocean health, as well as the everyday realities faced by Pacific communities due to climate impacts.

At the recent COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Chris Bowen, Australia’s Climate Minister, announced a new agreement following the decision. This arrangement designates Bowen as the COP president for negotiations, while a pre-COP event will take place in the Pacific. The main conference will be hosted in Türkiye, allowing Australia to prepare draft texts and oversee the overarching documentation of the event. Bowen noted that Türkiye would manage the operational aspects of the meeting.

The inability to reach a consensus during the months-long bidding process meant that Bonn, Germany, would have been the default host city if no resolution was achieved. Bowen remarked that not having a COP president for a year would have been a disservice to multilateralism, which is already facing challenges. “It was important to strike an agreement with Türkiye, our competitor,” Bowen explained. “Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can’t have it all. This process works on consensus.”

The decision has sparked concerns among environmental advocates. Shiva Gounden, head of Pacific campaigns for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, highlighted that not hosting the COP will complicate the region’s efforts to advocate for climate justice. He noted that being able to host the event would have allowed Pacific nations to influence negotiations more effectively, embedding regional values into discussions.

The ongoing challenges within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process were also brought to light. Gounden criticized the process for its inability to resolve issues smoothly, stating, “If it wasn’t resolved, it would have gone to Bonn, where there wouldn’t be any presidency for a year, and that creates a lot of issues for multilateralism, which is under threat.”

Sindra Sharma, international policy lead for the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), underscored that the decision regarding the COP31 presidency does not diminish the global responsibility to fulfill the Paris Agreement. “There is no safe ‘overshoot’ and every increment of warming is a failure to current and future generations,” she commented.

As discussions at COP30 progress, Sharma stressed the urgency of maintaining focus. “We are in the final hours of COP30, and the outcomes we secure here will set the foundation for COP31. We need to ensure this COP delivers the ambition and justice frontline communities deserve.”

The outcome of COP31’s hosting decision signals ongoing challenges in global climate negotiations, highlighting the need for continued advocacy and cooperation among nations, particularly those most vulnerable to climate change.