Adelaide loses climate conference bid but SA officials left in dark
Federal Climate Minister Chris Bowen has announced Adelaide has lost its bid to host the 2026 UN climate conference to Turkiye after months of negotiations and millions of dollars spent on preparations.
Federal Climate Minister Chris Bowen confirmed the news this morning, saying “obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can’t have it all. This process works on consensus”.
Australia will be left with the crumbs, Bowen saying at a press conference in Brazil that negotiations are still continuing but it was likely a pre-COP would be hosted on a Pacific island and Bowen would be the COP President for Negotiations when the sought-after global event would now be held in Turkiye.
When asked about the significant loss for Australia, Bowen said “it’s also a significant concession for Turkiye to agree that Australia will be the COP president for the purposes of the negotiations”.
“Significant concession is what’s required when you are trying to find consensus,” he said.
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis on Thursday morning told ABC radio that the state government had not heard from federal counterparts to confirm or deny media reports about Adelaide’s lost bid. Premier Peter Malinaukas is making a statement shortly.
The state government allocated $8 million in the budget for COP preparations.
It was another blow for the state government after news emerged last week that world-class opera AIDA, also bound for Adelaide in 2026, was delayed until 2027.
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Following today’s news, Shadow Tourism Minister Penny Pratt said “this is a huge blow for our tourism sector”.
The SA Liberal Party have called on Labor to release a “full and transparent” report on how much has been spent on the state’s COP31 bid and to divert any remaining funds to environmental initiatives.
“Peter Malinauskas must come clean with South Australians about how much money spent so far is beyond recovery – and he should take steps to recover those funds from the federal government,” Shadow Government Accountability Minister Ben Hood said.
“If Adelaide is no longer in the running to host COP31, the focus now needs to shift to ensuring the funding set aside for the bid is used on initiatives that will actually help our environment, not just help people talk about it.”
Under United Nations rules, the hosting rights to the event are decided by consensus and negotiation, not a vote.
If Australia and Turkiye had not agreed on hosting rights, the conference would have been held at the UN climate headquarters in Germany – an outcome both the Prime Minister and the Pacific Island Affairs Minister said this week they were keen to avoid.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith returned from COP30 held in Belem, Brazil, this week, where she lobbied for Australia’s bid.
“I couldn’t do more than I’ve done,” Lomax-Smith told InDaily on Wednesday.
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“I was at every event, speaking at every event, going to every lobby group and spruiking about Adelaide. Interestingly, globally, South Australia is known.
“I spoke to the Governor of California, who knew about South Australia. I spoke to Al Gore, who knew about South Australia. We have a global reputation for reliable renewables, and they know that we’re now moving on to the more complicated issues in our state.”
Lomax-Smith said she believed Adelaide had put its best foot forward to host the event, despite Australia’s representatives missing South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who instead remained in Adelaide to see through a deal to prop up an embattled disability provider.
“I regarded my visit as supporting Team Australia,” Lomax-Smith said.
“I left nobody under any illusion that we weren’t experienced, capable and will be ready.”
The Turkish embassy in Australia said the Pacific would be taken into account if COP31 were held in its resort city of Antalya.
“We will ensure that no one is left behind, particularly the regions that are most adversely affected by climate change including the Pacific,” the embassy said in a statement to AAP.
“The Mediterranean on the other hand, is a recognised climate hotspot warming 20 per cent faster than the global average, and facing growing threats from extreme heat, water scarcity and biodiversity loss.”
The embassy also argued Turkiye was well-positioned to bridge the gap on climate policy between developed and developing nations.
Adelaide Deputy Mayor Kieran Snape was scathing in his assessment saying: “the fact that the most senior elected representative (state) at COP30 for the most part was the Lord Mayor shows that this was a piss weak effort by the state and federal governments”.
He added that “Jane Lomax-Smith gave her absolute all”.
More to come.
– with AAP
