One the Pacific’s most high-profile leaders is pressing Anthony Albanese to fly to the global UN climate summit in Brazil next month to “close the deal” with Türkiye and secure COP31 hosting rights for next year.
Australia has been stuck in protracted negotiations with Türkiye as the two countries try to hammer out a compromise that will allow Australia to host the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate change meeting with Pacific nations in 2026.
The president of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr, has told the ABC that it was now “crunch time” for the summit, and he hoped the prime minister would travel to the Amazonian city of Belem for COP30 — if needed — to convince Türkiye to “clear the way” for Australia’s bid.
“The bottom line is: it’s crunch time, we’re now 12 months away and … Australia needs all the time to prepare and get ready for [COP],” Whipps said.
“[Albanese’s] voice, and his presence there, I think, will represent the importance of a Pacific COP, and hopefully can push Türkiye over the line.”
Whipps said that Australia had put a “number of proposals” to Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan which would allow Australia to retain the COP31 presidency while still giving Ankara a role in hosting next year’s summit.
“I think it’s important that Türkiye look at [these proposals] and really clear the way so we can avoid an impasse and potentially a major distraction in Brazil at COP30 over this issue,” he said.
The president said that while Türkiye had proposed a COP “co-presidency” with Australia, that idea “can’t work”, and that Ankara should accept that Australia and the Pacific had a compelling case to host.
“Hopefully, Türkiye can understand how important this is to the Pacific. Other countries, with climate change, might only be talking about droughts, or sea level rise, or storms — in the Pacific we experience all of them,” he said.
“That’s why it’s important we get the opportunity to make this a Pacific COP.”
The prime minister travelled to Palau for a private holiday earlier this month when he took a week’s leave ahead of his White House visit, and Whipps said he caught up with Albanese to discuss climate change and the COP31 bid.
“We went out to the beach, and we collected some plastic which had washed up from our neighbours. We looked at places that had coastal erosion caused by sea level rise and storms,” Whipps said.
“He said, this is what we need to show our friends from around the world, so they understand the challenges we face.”
A spokesperson for Albanese declined to comment on his travel plans or confirm whether he would head to Brazil for the summit.
The prime minister has already set a frenetic pace of international travel in October with trips to the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and South Korea, and is also expected to travel to South Africa for the G20 in November.
