Türkiye to hold talks with three states on COP31 chairmanship

Azerbaijan (COP29), Brazil (COP30), Türkiye, and Australia will hold a joint meeting on the chairmanship of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP31).

According to Anadolu, the statement was made by Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, Murat Kurum.

He noted that discussions regarding the COP31 chairmanship, scheduled for next year, are ongoing, and the outcome will be determined soon.

“We are conducting these negotiations with the UN and other countries. As you know, Australia is also a candidate for the COP presidency. Today, we discussed the COP chairmanship process with our Australian colleague. We will hold a joint meeting and consultations with Brazil, Azerbaijan, and Australia. We want the Republic of Türkiye to be represented on an equal and fair basis,” Kurum said.

This development comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts at COP30, where the final decision on COP31's host must be ratified by consensus among the 28 members of the UN's Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG), which includes both contenders.

COP hosting rotates regionally under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with WEOG responsible for COP31. Both Australia and Türkiye submitted bids in 2022, leading to a deadlock that risks defaulting the event to Bonn, Germany (UNFCCC headquarters), an outcome neither desires nor the UN prefers due to logistical and symbolic reasons.

By Khagan Isayev