Photo: Sera Sefeti/BenarNews. Retrieved from benarnews.org
Australia has been accused of being “out of touch with the reality of climate change” by campaigners as it bids to co-host the COP31 summit in 2026 with Pacific Island nations.
Talks at the U.N.’s COP29 in Azerbaijan have entered their second week, with Australia taking a leading role in climate finance negotiations, while also pushing to secure COP31.
A joint Australia-Pacific COP would be the first co-hosted by multiple nations and mark the summit’s return to the Southern Hemisphere after an absence of a decade.
Turkey is also vying to hold the event, with a decision anticipated possibly by the end of this week.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa told BenarNews that Australia’s bid has the full support of Pacific Island nations and would be “great for the Pacific.”
“We just need to get to the finer details, to work out the finer details,” Waqa said in Baku.
Civil society groups say the divide between Australia and the Pacific’s climate ambitions must be addressed.