SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he would travel on Saturday to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil to push forAustralia to host next year’s summit,amid a stand-off with rival bidder Turkey.
Australia and Turkey submitted bids in 2022 to host the United Nations climate conference and both countries have refused to concede to the other ever since. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month wrote to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in an attempt to resolve the long-running tussle.
Bowen said a decision on the issue would be made at COP30 and asserted that “Australia has the overwhelming support of the world to host” next year’s conference, according to an official transcript of remarks to reporters at Sydney Airport.
In a statement, Bowen said he would advocate strongly for Australia and highlight its clean energy industry at the summit in the Amazon city of Belem.
Australia wanted to host next year’s summit with Pacific island nations for the first time and show how to fight together the “existential threat” of climate change, Bowen said.
“Our nation has a lot at stake when it comes to climate change but every effort we make now will help avert the worst impacts,” he added.
A regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia’s bid. Several Pacific island nations are at risk from rising seas.
Australia, aiming to become “a renewable energy superpower”, is pivoting away from coal and gas power and is seeking investment in critical minerals, green steel and transition technologies such as batteries.
Turkey says it wants a COP – or Conference of the Parties – that more directly tackles financing for developing countries’ climate efforts while showcasing its progress toward a 2053 net-zero emissions target.
The annual COP, the world’s main forum for driving climate action, has grown over the years from diplomatic gatherings into vast trade shows where host countries can promote economic prospects.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Richard Chang)
