Once adversaries on the blood-soaked beaches of Gallipoli, Türkiye and Australia are now forging a remarkable partnership with the world’s future in mind. In a move that few could have predicted a century ago, the two nations are stepping into the international spotlight to co-lead the COP31 climate conference in 2026—a diplomatic experiment that could redefine how global climate negotiations are conducted. As the dust settles from COP30 in Belém, all eyes are turning toward Antalya, Türkiye, where the next round of United Nations climate talks will unfold under this unprecedented shared stewardship.
The alliance didn’t come easily. According to reporting from Climate Home News, both Türkiye and Australia had submitted solo bids to host COP31 as far back as 2022. Despite months of wrangling and separate negotiations with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a deal seemed out of reach. Hopes for a breakthrough at the UNFCCC intercessional meetings in Bonn fizzled, and even a tentative shared-hosting idea floated before the UN General Assembly was shot down by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. By the time COP30 rolled around, Halil Hasar, director at Türkiye’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, described the situation as having gone “back to square one.”
Yet, creative diplomacy prevailed. The final arrangement—hammered out in late 2025—will see Türkiye officially host and preside over COP31 in Antalya, while Australia takes the lead as “president of negotiations.” Pacific nations, who had previously sought to co-host with Australia, will instead organize a Pre-COP meeting in their region, ensuring their voices remain central to the process. This division of labor, as noted by Climate Home News, is designed to reduce domestic political risk and financial strain, while creating space for more inclusive, cross-cutting collaboration.
It’s a structure that draws from recent history: both COP29 in Baku and COP30 in Belém split executive and presidential responsibilities between different leaders. At COP30, for example, Brazil’s Ana Toni served as executive director, while André Corrêa do Lago held the official presidency. For COP31, Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen is expected to play a similar role to Toni, leveraging his close ties with Pacific leaders and shouldering the bureaucratic challenge of drafting a comprehensive agreement. On the Turkish side, Minister Murat Kurum and Halil Hasar will lead the presidency, with First Lady Emine Erdoğan expected to have a prominent presence.
Antalya, with its more than 600,000 hotel beds and state-of-the-art congress center, is already being touted as an ideal venue. The city’s accessible visa procedures and affordable travel options further sweeten the deal for thousands of expected delegates. And in a year where the UNFCCC faces persistent budget woes, Türkiye’s lower hosting costs offer a welcome reprieve after several expensive COPs.
But this partnership isn’t just about logistics or cost-cutting. Türkiye’s unique position—straddling Europe, the Middle East, and Russia—makes it a diplomatic bridge in a multipolar world. Its renewable energy credentials are impressive: in 2024, Türkiye generated 156 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable electricity, outpacing Australia’s 98.8 TWh, according to data from Ember. Türkiye’s experience in industrial-scale solar and wind power could provide a crucial push toward the UN’s ambitious renewable energy targets.
Australia, meanwhile, brings a different set of strengths to the table. Its deep experience in UNFCCC negotiations, strong relationships with Pacific nations, and growing climate diplomacy credentials make it well-suited to the role of chief negotiator. By not hosting, Australia sidesteps the political and financial distractions that have bedeviled previous conferences. As Climate Home News observed, climate minister Chris Bowen faced domestic criticism for his new international responsibilities, with some detractors worrying he’d become a “part-time minister.” But the arrangement allows Australia to focus on what it does best: building bridges and driving consensus.
The two countries’ complementary capabilities open the door to practical collaboration on several fronts. Australia’s expertise in rooftop solar and grid integration, paired with Türkiye’s prowess in solar manufacturing, could pave the way for advances in renewables, industrial decarbonization, and regional energy transitions. And the partnership arrives at a moment when the global climate agenda is crying out for fresh ideas and effective compromise.
What will the new leadership mean for COP31’s themes? While the full agenda is still being shaped, several priorities are already emerging. One is the acceleration of renewable energy adoption, particularly in the Pacific and other developing regions. Another is the “green steel” transition: Türkiye is a leading producer of electric arc furnace steel, while Australia is the world’s largest iron ore exporter. There’s a real opportunity here to push for greener steelmaking and to expand on the Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization. Of course, significant hurdles remain—not least the costs of production and uncertain demand for green steel—but COP31 could be a platform for tackling these challenges head-on.
Also likely to be in the spotlight: the global phasedown of thermal coal. Australia is a major coal exporter, and Türkiye is a significant coal consumer. While recent COPs have largely sidestepped the issue—fossil fuels weren’t even mentioned in the final agreement at Belém—the joint leadership in Antalya could finally bring a more grounded, collaborative discussion to the table. Both countries face tough transitions away from coal, and their willingness to engage on this front could set the tone for a new, trade-sensitive approach to phasing out the world’s dirtiest fuel.
Meanwhile, the machinery of climate transparency is getting a major upgrade. At COP30, the UN Climate Change secretariat unveiled the NAZCA Portal Redevelopment and Engagement Roadmap—a plan to transform its Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal into a modern, data-driven platform. As reported by EnviroNews Nigeria, the revamped portal will consolidate data on mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and implementation from non-party stakeholders, syncing with the new UNFCCC Climate Data Hub to boost transparency and ambition under the Paris Agreement.
The NAZCA portal, first launched in Lima at COP20, has become a central repository for climate commitments from cities, businesses, and civil society. The planned enhancements—ranging from full data downloads and geospatial mapping to AI-driven insights—aim to make it easier for stakeholders to track progress, share stories, and learn from one another. The introduction of the NAZCA Network will further support outreach, peer learning, and continuous improvement, ensuring that the portal remains a living, breathing hub of climate action.
Experts from CDP, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centres have all emphasized the portal’s growing role in linking data, transparency, and real-world implementation. As Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, President of COP21, put it at COP30, “The NAZCA portal continues to embody the ‘spirit of Paris,’ countering narratives of weakening ambition and reaffirming the importance of voluntary action within the global climate ecosystem.”
As the countdown to COP31 begins, the world will be watching to see whether this novel partnership between Türkiye and Australia can deliver the bridge-building moment that international climate negotiations so urgently need. With new tools for transparency and a fresh spirit of collaboration, Antalya could be the stage for a diplomatic breakthrough—or at the very least, a lesson in creative compromise.
