Next year’s UN climate talks set for Turkey, as Australia backs out of bid in compromise

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Turkey will host next year’s annual United Nations climate talks, as Australia late Wednesday bowed out of the race to host the conference after a protracted standoff.

As Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke at the U.N. conference, this year being hosted by Brazil, Australia’s Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced on the sidelines that his country had officially pulled out.

While Turkey won the bid to host the climate conference in the resort city of Antalya, Bowen is expected to act as president of next year’s negotiations, part of a compromise he said had been worked out with Turkey.

“Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all,” Bowen said. “But we can’t have it all.”

As president of the negotiations, Bowen said he would have all the powers to “handle the negotiations, to appoint co-facilitators, to prepare draft text, and to issue the cover decision.”

Environmental group Greenpeace called the arrangement “highly unusual.”

“Whatever the forum, whoever the president, the urgency and focus cannot change, and phasing out fossil fuels and ending deforestation must be at the core of the COP31 agenda,” said David Ritter, who leads Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

Ethiopia was announced as host for COP32 earlier this week. Other nations, including India, have already bid to host the talks the year after that.

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This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.