Türkiye has redoubled its efforts to host the 2026 U.N. climate talks in spite of calls to step aside and let rival bidder Australia hold the high-profile international gathering.
At a meeting of climate diplomats, Türkiye promised a world-class COP31 venue in Antalya, a seaside city that has previously hosted G-20 and NATO conferences.
"We are ready to make COP31 accessible, functional and inspiring," Ayşin Turpancı, an official from Türkiye's directorate of climate change, told delegates at mid-year U.N. negotiations in the German city of Bonn.
She said Türkiye's strategic position between Europe and Asia and its ability to bridge divides between developed and developing nations made it the ideal host.
As anxiety grows over the cost and availability of accommodation for this year's summit in the Brazilian city of Belem, she said Antalya boasted more than 600,000 hotel beds.
"The prices are able to serve participants from all levels," she told diplomats and non-governmental representatives at a special side event in Bonn to push Türkiye's case.
Nearly 200 nations attend the annual COP summits, which rotate through five groups of countries that must nominate, by consensus, a candidate to host the marathon climate negotiations.
The "Western European and Other States" bloc is hosting in 2026 and two bids have emerged – Türkiye and Australia, which has proposed co-hosting with neighboring Pacific Island nations.
Persistent
An Australian official in Bonn told AFP that Canberra was "working very hard to resolve the COP31 bid."
Earlier this month, the country's environment minister, Murray Watt, also used a platform on the world stage to push Australia's case.
"It's time for a climate COP in the Pacific region," Watt told government ministers at the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, France. "COP31 would be an unprecedented opportunity to bring global attention to the unique challenges and opportunities in the Blue Pacific."
The Pacific is severely threatened by rising seas and worsening storms, and many small island leaders have urged Türkiye to withdraw from the race. But Ankara shows no sign of budging.
"We reiterate our candidacy for the COP presidency," the country's deputy environment minister, Fatma Varank, told delegates in Bonn.
Veteran climate analyst Alden Meyer said Türkiye was "definitely being very persistent in their bid."
"Everyone is wondering, what is the game here? What does Türkiye really want?" Meyer, from think tank E3G, told AFP in Bonn. "And it may or may not be anything related to climate," he added, pointing to possible trade or political goals.
What is clear – a winning candidate is not now expected to be declared during Bonn as hoped, Meyer said.
"The decision may not be made until Belem, or just before," he said.
2035 goals
Brazil is hosting COP30 in November this year on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean region. The event holds significance as it will focus on assessing countries’ updated climate targets for 2035. Analysts have referred to it as possibly the most pivotal summit since the 2015 Paris COP, where the key climate agreement was established.
Türkiye has felt the effects of climate change, with repeated extreme weather events, including heat waves. Major Turkish lakes, such as Lake Van in the east and Lake Tuz in Central Anatolia, are drying up.
In October 2021, Türkiye became the last Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G-20 country to sign the Paris Agreement on limiting the effects of climate change.
According to official statistics, 36.2% of Türkiye’s electricity was generated from coal in 2023, and 21% from natural gas. Hydropower contributed 19.3%, wind 10%, and solar power 7%.
The government aims for solar power to generate half of the country’s electricity by 2035.
At COP29 in Azerbaijan, a group of nations, including all European Union member states, Canada, Mexico and Norway, pledged to set climate targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s aspirational goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The U.S. did not join this commitment.
Experts hailed the announcement as a positive sign, particularly as the pace of the energy transition faces challenges and the world continues to break new high-temperature records each year.