Climate: Australia candidate to host COP in 2026

Australia hopes to host the 2026 COP summit, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday in what is considered a poor student of climate change. “I believe this is a good opportunity for Australia to showcase and host a major global event,” Anthony Albanese said during a visit to Bangkok.

Australia elected a centre-left government this year, ending a decade of fossil fuel-friendly conservative rule. The new government has joined a multi-nation target for Australia, one of the world’s largest gas and coal producers, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Anthony Albanese wants to jointly host the COP in 2026, and Pacific islands that are most threatened by rising sea levels.

The United Arab Emirates will host the talks in 2023, a European country hopes to host the event in 2024 and Brazil is a candidate for the 2025 talks, with 2026 the most likely for Australia. “I’ve had a very positive response from all the countries I’ve approached about the issue,” said Anthony Albanese.

If the summit goes through, it will mark a radical change for Australia. In successive COPs, the country’s representatives have refused to compromise, won exceptions and been a thorn in the sides of the negotiators.

“We hope Australia will make a serious commitment to emissions reductions this decade,” said Climate Council expert Wesley Morgan, for whom Australia’s candidacy was “very important”.

Coal mines provide thousands of jobs in the country, but devastating fires and two years of major flooding have helped change attitudes. Anthony Albanese has vowed to turn the sun-drenched island continent into a “renewable energy superpower”.