Australia to concede defeat in battle for major global event: reports
After spending millions of dollars and months of hard work, Australia is set to admit it’s been outgunned for a major global event.
In what will be a huge disappointment to the Albanese Government, Australia has reportedly conceded defeat in its battle to host next year’s global climate summit.
That’s despite millions of dollars already having been spent on attempts to secure the high profile United Nations COP31 event for Adelaide.
The government had been pushing hard to bring COP31, and its 50,000 delegates, to South Australia, in a bid that would also have involved Pacific nations which are hard hit by climate change.
But months of pressure appear to have come to nothing with Australia blinking first in a battle with Turkey to nab the hosting rights.
COP30 is currently taking place in the city of Belem, Brazil. Notably, the US, under Donald Trump, has turned away from climate action and has boycotted the summit reducing its relevance and the significant steps it can take.
Host cities for COP summits are picked by consensus. If neither Australia nor Turkey had pulled out, it would have meant COP31 would have been held in Bonn, Germany, by default. That was an outcome even Germany wasn’t excited about given it would have to organise and pay for the summit.
9News has reported the Australian officials have conceded that Adelaide will not host COP31 leaving Turkey as the winner.
But negotiations are still continuing with Turkey to try and ensure that if Australia formally withdraws there will still be a role for Pacific nations.
“We are trying to get the best outcome here for the planet and for the global economy and regardless of where it is held, we will continue to play a leadership role in that,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday.
Australia will not get another chance to hold the event for five years as hosting rights rotate among five groups of nations.
AFP has reported that Australia rejected an offer from Turkey to jointly host COP31.
The event would have cost $1 billion to hold with millions already spent on pre-planning. But South Australia would have recouped around half of that in economic activity, reported 9News.
It was only on Monday that Climate Minister Chris Bowen said Australia was “fighting hard” for COP31.
“We don’t know how it’ll go. But we’re in it to win it,” he said in Belem.
In September Mr Bowen travelled to New York with the prime minister to the United Nations and even net with Turkey’s first lady Emine Erdoğan to try and persuade Ankara to allow Australia’s bid to win.
With AFP.
Originally published as Australia to concede defeat in battle for major global event: reports
