BELÉM, Brazil — Turkey has won the right to host next year’s U.N. climate talks — and to preside over the talks, giving it a powerful say in charting the world’s course on international finance and fossil fuels, according to a deal with its rival Australia that was published Friday.
The victory for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government was somewhat more complete than what Australia had admitted to earlier this week, when one of its ministers suggested that the Australians would have sole control of the diplomacy at the talks.
“I would have all the powers of the COP presidency,” Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen told reporters Wednesday.
But Turkey will be the COP31 president, according to the deal text published Friday on the U.N. climate website. An Australian representative would serve in the lesser — and not completely defined — role of the “President of Negotiations … who will have exclusive authority in relation to the negotiations.”
“If there is a difference of views between Türkiye and Australia, consultations will take place until the difference is resolved to mutual satisfaction,” according to the deal, which adopted the Turkish government’s preferred spelling for its country.
The unusual arrangement followed more than a year of head-butting between the two countries over who should host the 2026 talks, with Turkey claiming it on behalf of other developing nations while Australia pitched itself as an avatar for the endangered Pacific islands.
“It’s never been done before. There’s never been a shared presidency,” said Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the E3G think tank.
Despite Bowen identifying himself as the Australian representative, it was not within his power to choose, the deal made clear. Turkey would assign a representative of Australia to that role.
Turkey had proposed hosting the talks in the Mediterranean city of Antalya. Recent U.N. summits have been held in 2023 in Dubai, last year in Baku, Azerbaijan, and this month in the Amazonian port city of Belém, Brazil.
