ISTANBUL: Turkiye wants to host next year’s UN climate change talks and is ready to organize the event alone if there is no agreement on sharing the event, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP Sunday.
Australia and Turkiye are locked in a stalemate over who should host the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in 2026.
The host is selected by consensus, so unless Australia or Turkiye withdraws or the countries agree to share the conference, both will miss out. A decision should be made at the current COP conference in Belem, Brazil.
If no consensus is reached, the summit would revert to Bonn, the German city that hosts the UN’s climate secretariat.
The Turkish source said discussions with Australia at the UN General Assembly’s annual meetings in September yielded initial proposals for joint management of the event and shared high-level meetings.
