Australia will take a commanding role in next year’s COP31 climate summit, after a formal agreement confirmed Türkiye as host while granting Australia “exclusive authority” over negotiations in the lead-up to and during the conference.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the arrangement – finalised at COP30 in Belém, Brazil – gives Australia and the Pacific “unprecedented influence over multilateral deliberations and actions of the global community in 2026”.
Under the deal, Türkiye will host the World Leaders Summit in Antalya, while Australia, partnering closely with Pacific nations, will drive the negotiation agenda. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had negotiated “in good faith” to secure an outcome that placed Pacific interests at the centre of global climate action.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who will serve as President of Negotiations, said Australia would use its authority to “shape and guide global decision-making” to strengthen climate ambition and support clean-energy trade and investment. He added that the model agreed with Türkiye shows that “the shared challenge of climate change is also the world’s shared economic opportunity”.
A key feature of the agreement is a special Pacific pre-COP, to be convened in 2026. Australia will set the agenda and preside over the gathering, which will bring global leaders to the region to witness first-hand the existential threat climate change poses to small island nations. The summit will also spotlight Pacific-led solutions.
The strengthened action agenda for COP31 will include a dedicated session on climate finance needs for Small Island Developing States, creating a platform for new commitments to the Pacific Resilience Facility – a fund designed to support locally driven climate responses.
Albanese said Australia was “proud to work with Türkiye, a country with whom we share a long history”, to deliver a COP that elevates the Pacific’s voice.
“This will give our Pacific family the global stage they have always deserved.”
The government argues the agreement reflects its efforts since May 2022 to restore Australia’s climate credibility with international partners. Wong said Australia had rebuilt trust with the Pacific and shown it was “a reliable, trustworthy partner – willing to work with others on difficult challenges”.
Bowen said leading the negotiations would allow the region to highlight both its vulnerabilities and its potential. “Our region is at the frontline of the climate crisis,” he said. “COP31 will bring the focus of the world to the impacts, opportunities and priorities in our region.”
The Albanese Government expects that global attention on Pacific challenges will help mobilise investment in tailored climate solutions, while strengthening regional prosperity, stability and security.
“Together, COP31 will accelerate practical action and investment to keep global temperatures to safer limits and help build resilience to climate impacts,” Albanese said.
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