Australia will not oppose a successful Turkish bid to host next year's COP31 climate summit, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, warning a prolonged standoff over hosting rights could undermine unity required to help the Pacific island nations.
Albanese earlier this week ruled out a joint hosting arrangement, which Türkiye had suggested, saying United Nations rules do not permit co-hosts for the annual summit.
But on Tuesday he said there was "considerable concern" from countries, including Pacific nations, that a failure to reach consensus could jeopardise efforts to push for a united diplomatic front to act on climate.
"If Australia is not chosen, if Türkiye is chosen, we wouldn't seek to veto that. What we would seek to do is to ensure that the Pacific benefited from that," Albanese told reporters.
"What we're doing is continuing to engage ... not just with Türkiye, but other countries as well to make sure that the interests of the Pacific are looked after."
Australia has campaigned to host COP31 alongside Pacific island nations for the first time, backed by the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum. Many Pacific states are on the front lines of rising sea levels and have pushed for more global efforts on climate finance and emission cuts.
Under UN rules, the 28-member 'Western Europe and Others Group' bloc, whose turn it is to host COP31 and which includes Australia and Türkiye, must unanimously decide.
Consensus must be reached at COP30, currently underway in Belem, Brazil, and scheduled to end on Friday (21 November).
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The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen colleagues killed in Gaza in April 2024.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
North Korea has fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.
Georgia’s foreign trade data for January-July 2026 shows Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia as its top three export markets, highlighting its Middle Corridor ambitions and complex economic ties with Moscow.
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a fundamentally changed electoral system based entirely on party lists.
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