A decision on which country will host the UN Cop 31 climate talks in 2026 may not come until next year, as Australia and Turkey vie to be the next host.
Draft decision text released on Friday at Cop 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, would punt the decision and call on western European and other States to accelerate their consultations" and be prepared to present an offer to host in June 2025.
Australia formally bid in 2022 to host Cop 31 and had little competition other than Turkey, which has refused to back down. Pushing the decision to next year would shorten the amount of time the eventual host has to prepare. But Azerbaijan won its hosting duties [only last year] at Cop 28 in Dubai. Brazil, the host of Cop 30, had its bid accepted in May 2023.
Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Turkey is part of a grouping of western European countries, while Australia is in a group of "other states" that also includes Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the US.
The Australian delegation in Baku did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The draft text said that Cop 32 will be held in an African country from 8-19 November 2027.
