Turkey and Australia have reached a landmark agreement over the hosting of the 2026 United Nations climate summit, known as COP31, putting an end to a prolonged deadlock between the two nations.

The accord, revealed in a document at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, assigns Turkey as the physical host of the summit while granting Australia the lead role in the formal negotiations among nearly two hundred nations.

Under the arrangement, Turkey will hold the COP31 venue in the resort city of Antalya, with full hosting and presidency responsibilities.

Australia, in turn, will chair the negotiating process, undertake the preparatory work and convene the ministerial and technical sessions that shape the agenda and draft text ahead of the summit.

Officials agreed that a “pre-COP” meeting will be held in a Pacific Island country, aligning with Australia’s efforts to raise the voice of small island states and the region’s climate-vulnerability.

The agreement emerged following nearly a year of intense diplomatic bargaining, in which both nations laid competing bids to host the conference.

The final deal includes a clause that any differences between Turkey and Australia will be resolved through consultation until mutual satisfaction is reached.

The outcome resolves a scenario in which failure to reach consensus would have defaulted the hosting to Germany.

For Australia, the deal preserves a leadership role in climate diplomacy even though it will not host the venue.

The Australian delegation emphasized that leading the negotiations enables it to shape key outcomes, and to safeguard the interests of Pacific nations—a core theme of its bid.

For Turkey, obtaining the hosting rights and formal presidency strengthens its diplomatic standing and signals its ambition to engage on a global climate stage despite earlier criticism of its emissions commitments.

The agreement will formally require approval by the Western European and Others Group of the UN climate process, which comprises the regional bloc whose turn it was to offer hosting rights.

Delegates are confident the endorsement will be secured ahead of the COP30 closing session.

Observers note that the arrangement sets a new precedent in United Nations climate diplomacy by decoupling hosting and negotiating leadership.

It also raises questions about how Australia will ensure its Pacific-focused objectives are reflected given that the venue lies outside the region.

Meanwhile Turkey will need to demonstrate its capacity to host an event of this scale and to manage the summit’s civil-society participation and media scrutiny.

By agreeing to share functions rather than territory, both nations avoid the high cost and logistical burden of hosting alone.

The model may offer a blueprint for future climate-summit bids and align with the evolving geopolitics of climate governance.

For now, negotiations and preparations enter a new phase, with Australia steering the year-long agenda and Turkey preparing the venue for COP31 in late 2026.