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Albanese government faces backlash for failing to lock in climate talks

By Nick O'Malley

The Albanese government is facing growing criticism from climate and clean energy advocates over its failure to lock in the right to host next year’s global climate talks, despite years of effort to secure the event.

Many observers had hoped that Australia would be able to announce itself as the host of the COP31 talks at last year’s talks in Azerbaijan, and again at meetings held in Germany last month.

Climate Minister Chris Bowen attended last year’s talks in Baku, but has yet to secure Australia’s hosting rights for 2026.

Climate Minister Chris Bowen attended last year’s talks in Baku, but has yet to secure Australia’s hosting rights for 2026.Credit: AP

During the federal election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named Adelaide as the potential location for the talks that Australia wants to co-host with its Pacific neighbours. Though Australia has won the support of most members of its UN group to host, Turkey is also seeking to host the event and has declined to concede.

The annual UN climate talks, more formally the Conference of the Parties (COP) of signatories of the Paris climate treaty, are seen as a way for Australia to help shape future world climate diplomacy and reinforce security ties with Pacific neighbours.

Former foreign minister and NSW premier Bob Carr said it was vital for Australia and the region to demonstrate leadership after the Trump administration abandoned the Paris Agreement.

“We need to elevate this and make it a sophisticated, all-of-government approach,” Carr said, encouraging Labor to draw on its experience from the last time it held government.

“I’m thinking of the diplomatic professionalism that I witnessed when I was in charge of the final stages of securing our seat for a two-year term on the UN Security Council in late 2012.”

Former Australian climate diplomat Richie Merzian, now chief executive of the Clean Energy Investor Group, said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen had been an enthusiastic champion of the event, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Albanese had been less engaged.

“To pull off something this complicated requires the full diplomatic force and every tool available, and we know what that looks like,” Merzian said.

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“We saw it with the UN Security Council bid when Labor was last tilting at a major multilateral endeavour, and we saw this under the LNP when they were trying to secure [former Liberal finance minister] Mathias Cormann’s job as [as secretary general of the] OECD, it just doesn’t look like we’re seeing this now.

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“We are less than 18 months out from when we’re expected to host. We’ve known that we’ve wanted to host since late 2021, and it doesn’t feel like we are within cooee of actually locking it in.”

Bowen, who is travelling in the Pacific this week in part to discuss the bid, said his counterparts in the region remained “fully supportive”.

“They’ve already been making their views very clear to Turkey and to other nations that they want to see the COP31 in Australia in partnership with the Pacific,” Bowen said on ABC radio from the Marshall Islands on Thursday. “I couldn’t have asked for more from our Pacific colleagues … They’ve written to Turkey, they’ve offered to do more when and if they can.

“We treat Turkey with respect. They’ve indicated they don’t wish to withdraw their nomination despite the fact, you know, it’s pretty clear we have the overwhelming bulk of support.”

Bowen’s and Wong’s offices were contacted for comment.

Atlassian co-founder and green tech advocate Mike Cannon-Brookes warned the “clock is ticking” on arranging the event, which he described as the “climate Olympics”.

Addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday, Smart Energy Council chief John Grimes said he recalled Paul and Anita Keating travelling the world in a jet to back the 2000 Sydney Olympics bid, and that this sort of national effort was now needed.

“Australia is at its best when, as a middle power, we’re out advocating on the global stage for something that is of community and global benefit,” Grimes said.

“This is the giant business opportunity. We absolutely should be doing this. It takes all of us swinging in behind this, but the government really, really needs to do whatever it can.”

Last year, Australian officials travelled to Turkey to discuss the bid and persuade Turkey to withdraw. It was then hoped Turkey would stand aside after Labor won the federal election this year, locking in Australia’s climate ambition.

Merzian said Turkey has a history of using its nomination in climate talks to win concessions or support for other diplomatic efforts.

“There are multiple ways that we can build that relationship and that trust. The question is, have we really tried everything we possibly can?” he said.

“Because this is now a matter of urgency, and this is not just a nice-to-have diplomatic event. This is pivotal to Australia’s clean energy transition.”

When Turkey held up the UK’s bid to host the Glasgow climate talks, Britain promised to host a Turkish investment conference in London and back Turkish candidates for several international and UN posts, Politico reported in May.

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/albanese-government-faces-backlash-for-failing-to-lock-in-climate-talks-20250710-p5mdvk.html