Türkiye says it holds final say at COP31, despite Australia's negotiating role
Türkiye's COP31 president says his country holds the final say over the Antalya summit, even as Australia formally chairs the negotiations under an unprecedented split-presidency arrangement.
Türkiye's environment minister says his country retains ultimate authority over the outcome of November's COP31 climate summit in Antalya, despite an unusual power-sharing arrangement that gave Australia the job of chairing the actual negotiations. Speaking to reporters in Trabzon, COP31 President-designate Murat Kurum said: "Türkiye and Australia are not co-presidents... the final decision lies with the presidency of COP31."
Under a deal struck at COP30 to end a long rivalry over hosting rights, Türkiye is hosting the summit and leading its non-negotiated "Action Agenda," while Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen serves as President of Negotiations with what Australia has described as full authority over the formal talks. It's the first UN climate summit to split presidency powers between two countries this way, and officials on both sides say the arrangement has caused "no issues" so far.
Kurum also said he accepts that the 1.5C warming limit is now out of reach, that COP31 would build on the prior commitment to transition away from fossil fuels, and that his team would "try to meet" requests to guarantee protest rights at the summit.
Based on reporting by Joe Lo for Climate Home News. Read the original: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2026/09/11/turkiye-says-it-has-final-decision-at-cop31-despite-australia-running-negotiations/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
