Leaders jet off in final push for Adelaide COP bid
Time is running out to secure Adelaide’s bid for the global climate conference as the Lord Mayor prepares to jet off to spruik the city’s bid – and the PM does his “utmost” to win.
Acting Premier and Environment Minister Susan Close said today that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is doing his “utmost” to bring the climate conference, COP31, to Adelaide with plans to lobby main rival Türkiye this month.
She said the PM “is pulling out all stops to secure it for our state, for the nation and for the Pacific region, which is at the forefront of the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will attend the UN General Assembly in New York this month and hoped to speak with the Turkish President about the rival bids. He is currently working with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands at a meeting in the Pacific Islands, which is partnering with Australia on the bid.
Türkiye hasn’t conceded to Australia, and ramped up its lobbying for the conference at recent June climate meetings in Bonn, Germany, announcing its host city, Antalya.
“I’ve already had discussions with the President, President Erdoğan of Türkiye, and we hope to meet on the sidelines,” Albanese told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“We haven’t had that confirmed yet, but clearly we need to have a discussion to sort through the issues.”
Meanwhile, Close said the South Australian Government was “eagerly awaiting confirmation on whether Adelaide will host COP in November next year. At the very latest, we will find out at this year’s November COP in Brazil”.
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The host for 2026 needs to be decided with consensus from members of the Western European and Others, which Australia is a part of, but if no decision is made by November, then the host city reverts to Bonn, Germany.
Federal Climate Minister Chris Bowen has previously said Australia’s bid is backed by 23 of 28 members.
The renewed push for the event comes as the Adelaide City Council on Tuesday night unanimously supported Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith’s travel plans to join the lobbying.
Lomax-Smith would represent Adelaide at New York Climate Week from September 21 to September 28, joining Local Government and Trade Minister Joe Szakacs and Federal Climate Minister Chris Bowen.
A council spokesperson said the Lord Mayor’s New York trip was expected to cost Adelaide ratepayers about $3000–$5000, and that did not include accommodation.
Lomax-Smith told ABC Radio Adelaide on Wednesday that Adelaide must be “in it to win it” and fronting these events is “incredibly helpful”.
“I think Australians generally are not so good at showing up when there’s a bit of lobbying overseas. It’s really easy for Europeans to nip around Europe and even to North America, but it’s a real arm for us to make the long trip,” she said.
Lomax-Smith would also attend COP30’s Local Leaders Forum and a World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November, with costs covered by the organisers – the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.
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Premier’s Climate Change Council chair Martin Haese was Lord Mayor of Adelaide in December 2015 and attended COP21 in Paris. He told InDaily that for major climate events, local government must be at the table.
“When it comes to adaptation, implementation and planning, local government is actually the frontline provider, through infrastructure and a whole range of other measures that local government does very, very well to adapt to a changing climate,” he said.
“Adapting to climate change and mitigating climate change, in my experience, often local governments and state governments play almost a disproportionate role in terms of both adaptation and mitigation.
“When they are, in turn, supported by the federal governments – and in Australia, in 2025, we are – you’ve got a trifecta, and that’s why it’s very, very important that Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith is front left and centre, I would fully support that.”
Last week, the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water published an expression of interest on the AusTender website for specialist event management contractors for the hoped-for event.
The form said “the scale and complexity of COPs exceed any event the Australian Government has convened before”.
In the state budget, $8 million was allocated to preparations for COP31.
Haese said the government has already completed substantial preliminary work, despite not yet knowing if Adelaide would secure the event.
“There would be a lot more work that would still need to be done. It is all possible with that timeline, in my opinion. But nonetheless, it’s a very big task, because it is a substantial conference,” he said.
Close said hosting the event was “akin to hosting the Olympics”.
“This is why we’ve hit the ground running and are doing as much preparatory work as possible,” she said.
“This work includes planning where the various meetings will be located, how our agencies interact with the UN and world leaders, and really looking at the role South Australian industries, companies and environmental groups can play in showcasing our state.”
