(Bangkok) Australia hopes to host the 2026 COP summit, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is seen as a bad student in ecological transition, said on Saturday.
“It’s a good opportunity, I believe, for Australia to show and host what is a major world event,” Mr Albanese said during a visit to Bangkok.
Australia elected a centre-left government this year, ending a decade of fossil fuel-friendly conservative rule.
The new government aligned with the goal of many countries to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, a near-revolution for Australia, one of the world’s largest gas and coal producers.
Mr Albanese wants to co-host the COP conference in 2026 with Pacific islands that are seriously threatened by rising sea levels.
The United Arab Emirates will host the negotiations in 2023, a European country hopes to host the event in 2024 and Brazil is a candidate for the 2025 negotiations, leaving 2026 as the most likely option for Australia.
“I have received a very positive response from all the countries I have raised the issue with,” Mr. Albanese said.
If the summit materializes, it will be the symbol of a radical change for Australia.
At successive COPs, the country’s delegation has been a thorn in the side of negotiators, refusing to compromise and obtaining exceptions.
“Hopefully this means that Australia will make a serious commitment to emissions reduction policy in this decade,” said Climate Council expert Wesley Morgan, for whom Australia’s candidacy is “very important”.
Coal mines provide thousands of jobs in the country, but devastating fires and two years of massive flooding have helped change attitudes.
Mr Albanese has promised to turn the sun-drenched island continent into what he calls a “renewable energy superpower”.