Editorial
November 10, 2025 — 4.45pm
Australia and Turkey are locked in a Mexican stand-off over hosting next year’s United Nations climate change summit.
The Albanese government wants to stage COP31 in Adelaide, but Turkey’s entry as a candidate has put increasing pressure on the leaders’ segment of COP30, which starts this week in the Brazilian city of Belém, to settle on a host.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da …
Editorial
November 10, 2025 — 4.45pm
Australia and Turkey are locked in a Mexican stand-off over hosting next year’s United Nations climate change summit.
The Albanese government wants to stage COP31 in Adelaide, but Turkey’s entry as a candidate has put increasing pressure on the leaders’ segment of COP30, which starts this week in the Brazilian city of Belém, to settle on a host.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a roundtable with leaders of tropical forest countries during the COP30 summit.Credit: AP
The Herald’s advice to the Albanese government: walk away now.
These climate change conferences theoretically have the serious and noble intent of saving the planet, but high-minded ideals have been swamped by a crass commercialism that exists simply to drum up investment. They have been turned into trade shows and public relations opportunities.
The COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 is a case in point. Meant to be a serious gathering of world leaders and their negotiators, it was as though hijacked by a grotesque mix of rent seekers, hangers-on and political wannabes.
The vast majority of the 30,000 attendees did not need to be there. And some who did attend displayed a remarkably tin ear for climate change, with some 400 choosing to arrive by private jet. Then Prince Charles, a longstanding campaigner for the environment, was one of them, flying in from Rome, with Buckingham Palace assuring the media that he flew on a private jet using sustainable aviation fuel.
Australia began campaigning to host the COP after the Albanese government won office. The bid has been seen as a mechanism to increase Australia’s impact on climate diplomacy and strengthen ties with Pacific neighbours threatened by climate change and courted by China. The conference also allows Labor to display its climate change credentials as the Coalition continues to bicker on the issue.
Meanwhile, The Australian Financial Review reported that hosting the COP would cost $1 billion, citing government sources, and cabinet is known to be divided on the potential benefits and costs.
Belém is the 30th conference under the UN framework convention on climate change since it was signed at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and will focus on the developing world over the next two weeks. Even if delegates manage to sort out the impasse between Australia and Turkey, it will probably be too late.
Previously, host nations have had a couple of years to organise and rally international support for the sort of outcomes they hope will flow from the conference.
Turkey declared its desire to host the COP31 climate talks in June 2023 and, until now, Australia has insisted it had “overwhelming” backing for its bid. But Canberra cannot secure hosting rights unless Turkey withdraws, and it is now being forced to recalibrate its pitch to stage the conference at five minutes to midnight.
Even if Turkey threw in the towel, the short run-up makes it difficult for Australia to adequately prepare. And without all our ducks in a row, there is potential for embarrassment.
Better to let Turkey have it. It is clearly no longer worth the cost or the effort.
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