Australia and Türkiye try to break diplomatic stalemate over COP31 climate summit hosting rights
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Anthony Albanese did not meet on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York last week to discuss COP31. (AP/AAP)
In short:
The UN's COP31 summit could see hosting rights shared between Australia and Türkiye.
Both countries are still locked in negotiations as Canberra pushes to break the diplomatic deadlock.
A source has told the ABC that nothing has been decided and the final outcome would not necessarily see the event split between the two nations.
Australia and Türkiye are still locked in COP31 negotiations and could even agree to share hosting rights for the massive event next year, as the federal government intensifies efforts to resolve a diplomatic impasse over the climate summit.
Türkiye has been unwilling to withdraw its bid to hold the Conference of the Parties global climate talks, despite pressure from Pacific nations and the fact Australia enjoys "overwhelming" support from the bloc of largely European countries whose turn it is to host.
There is no clear mechanism to break the deadlock and Australia has become increasingly frustrated by the delay, warning the key climate meeting will likely revert to United Nations offices in the German city of Bonn if no diplomatic resolution is reached.
Australia says it wants to use COP31 to highlight urgent climate threats faced by Pacific nations and champion Pacific calls for more ambitious action, and Canberra has been careful to keep officials and leaders from the region briefed on the protracted discussions.
The UN's COP summit brings together delegates, media and observer groups from across the world. (Reuters: Murad Sezer)
Türkiye had proposed sharing the COP presidency with Australia, but the ABC understands the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat has made it clear that co-presidencies are not permitted under its rules.
However, two Pacific Island government sources have told the ABC that a separate idea has been floated that would see Australia holding the presidency but agreeing to "split" hosting rights with Türkiye, with officials and ministers from around the world attending COP events in both countries.
Some Pacific nations are open to the proposal, although it is not yet clear if Türkiye would be willing to accept the compromise.
"We've been pushing for the [Australia and Pacific COP] bid but this might be the only way forward," said one Pacific island source.
Ministers to discuss split hosting idea
Several Pacific climate ministers are travelling to Australia this week, and are expected to discuss the idea with Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in Sydney as part of broader discussions on climate and energy policy.
Türkiye's Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum told the Guardian last week that Australia and Türkiye were pursuing "innovative solutions" for the summit, and insisted they could "achieve a success based on historical ties where both countries win".
A senior Australian government source did not deny that the idea of shared hosting had been discussed, but stressed that "absolutely nothing" had been decided, and added that the final outcome would not necessarily be a split meeting.
Tens of thousands of delegates, media and observer groups will descend on the Adelaide CBD if Australia wins COP31 hosting rights. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)
A second Pacific Island source said some governments in the region also had reservations about the idea, as it might further dilute their influence at the talks and make it harder for them to push for meaningful global action.
While UN rules also prevent Pacific nations from sharing the COP presidency with Australia, Pacific leaders will still likely want to play a meaningful role even in a "split" COP31, for example, by hosting visiting senior officials or leaders in the region for meetings focused on their key climate priorities.
There has been a burst of diplomatic activity over COP31 in recent weeks as the deadline for a resolution approaches at the COP30 meeting in the Brazilian city of Belem in November.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Climate Minister Chris Bowen all pressed Australia's case for COP31 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, although Mr Albanese did not secure a flagged meeting with Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Mr Albanese declined to discuss the details of the negotiations but said last week there "clearly will need to be some compromise on both sides in order to move forward."
"If it is not agreed that one or other country withdraw, and our bid of course is a joint bid with the Pacific, then the default position is the conference goes to Bonn," he told Sky News.
"So, neither Turkey or Australia and the Pacific will host."
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the negotiations "pretty difficult", saying Türkiye was "not backing down" and calling UN processes to determine the host "very difficult and very convoluted".
Mr Bowen held discussions in New York with Mr Kurum and the president of Azerbaijan's COP29 summit, Mukhtar Babayev, as well as meeting with Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdoğan, who some observers have suggested has been a driving force behind its bid.
Has a COP summit been split before?
Splitting a COP meeting is not entirely unprecedented: COP25 was meant to be hosted in Chile's capital, Santiago, in 2019 but had to be moved to Spain due to widespread unrest in the city.
But Chile remained as COP president, with its environment minister leading global climate negotiations.
Italy also played a role in supporting COP26 when the United Kingdom held the presidency, hosting a pre-COP meeting in Milan ahead of the main event in Glasgow.
CEO of the Clean Energy Investor Group and former climate diplomat Richie Merzian said negotiations over the COP were clearly now intensifying and there was a "real appetite" to land a deal to ensure the meeting did not just revert to Bonn.
"This could be a way of helping the Turkish government save face and still carry some element of the process," Mr Merzian said.
"You can see a deal coming together, probably in the final throes of COP30 in Belem — but it will come together."
He said reaching a final decision on the hosting was also critical to ensure the global climate talks did not lose all momentum.
"So long as Australia and the Pacific host the main COP negotiations over the two weeks and holds the presidency that goes with it, all the other elements should be in play,"he said.
"There are a lot of moving pieces in COP, some official and some unofficial. You could do a high-level segment with ministers in Türkiye, and then the main summit here.
"All those elements are possible. It's not as neat, but we're not at the stage of landing a neat COP.
"We're at the stage of landing this COP."