(MENAFN) Türkiye will stage the 2026 COP31 climate summit in the coastal city of Antalya following Canberra's unexpected withdrawal from the hosting competition, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed.

In a power-sharing arrangement, Australia secured a key negotiating role while relinquishing the main event. The deal positions Chris Bowen, Australia's Climate Change Minister, as COP President for Negotiations, while Türkiye claims the conference presidency and hosting duties.

"What has been agreed is that (Climate Change Minister) Chris Bowen, Australia, will be COP President for Negotiations. The conference and the COP Presidency will go to Türkiye, and there'll be a pre-COP meeting, particularly focusing on climate financing in the Pacific, the Pacific Resilience Facility, in the lead up to COP next year, held in the Pacific," Albanese told an Australian public broadcaster.

The compromise includes a Pacific-focused preliminary meeting dedicated to climate financing and the Pacific Resilience Facility ahead of the main summit.

Albanese characterized the compromise as "a big win for both Australia and Türkiye."

He emphasized the necessity of unanimous agreement in climate conference protocols. "The rules of the climate conferences are that they've got to be done by consensus," he said. "If it wasn't a consensus, then it would have gone to Bonn in Germany."

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