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In 2021, the former prime minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, was hesitant but ultimately decided to attend the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) – known as the Glasgow Climate Conference – due to pressure from the United Kingdom, who was serving as the conference’s president at the time. This pressure was led by a Conservative prime minister. Despite his initial hesitancy, Morrison felt obligated to commit to a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 before attending the conference.

Just one week after the conference, former opposition leader Anthony Albanese declared that if Labor were to win the next election, he would volunteer to organize a Cop in 2024.

“Labor was victorious in the recent election, bringing us to the year 2024. So I have to ask, where is my Cop?”

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Last year’s Cop in Dubai had an estimated attendance of 90,000 people, making it one of the largest events a country can host outside of sports. Due to the increasing severity of the climate crisis, these conferences have expanded in their scope. Adding to the challenges, all decisions made at the event must be reached by consensus. This presents a difficult task, especially when compared to the simple 50% majority needed to pass climate policies in Australia. Imagine trying to reach consensus among nearly every nation on Earth.

Cops are complicated, incremental, painstaking work that ensures everyone is along for the journey. The result (when it works) is groundbreaking treaties like the Paris agreement and the goal to keep global warming to 1.5C.

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For those outside the UN negotiating rooms, Cops have become the de facto global trade show for climate solutions. If Albanese’s vision is truly to see Australia become a renewable energy superpower, then how better to show this to the world than having them here to view for themselves, chequebooks in hand?

Australia may once again benefit from its abundant resources of solar, wind, hydro, and critical minerals. However, relying solely on luck will not be sufficient to tackle the urgent demands of the climate crisis. Perhaps hosting the world’s biggest trade show on climate could provide the necessary motivation.

Regrettably, Albanese has chosen to postpone the hosting bid for COP from 2024 to 2026. However, the decision is not yet finalized and time is running out.

The lone contender for hosting in 2026 is Turkey and the selection must be reached through unanimous agreement. Although Turkey withdrew from hosting another United Nations environmental conference, their bid is still being considered.

Possible rewording: Smart diplomacy may be necessary in order to persuade Turkey to step down.

Switzerland retracted its competing offer for the Cop bid upon realizing that Australia had a more compelling argument, which included their proposal to collaborate with neighboring Pacific countries for the presidency. The Pacific Islands have been at the forefront of the global fight for immediate climate change action, successfully advocating for the 1.5C goal in the 2015 Paris agreement. Pacific leaders have shown support for Australia’s bid and have committed to advocating for it together.

We are aware that the Australian government is capable of using diplomatic techniques when necessary.

Just think of the efforts gone to securing Mathias Cormann’s top job at the OECD, or to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the world heritage in-danger list. Hosting a summit and a trade show to progress climate action seems like a far more worthwhile cause.

It’s time to finalize the agreement and start constructing a climate-conscious Australia that we can proudly present to the global community.

In 2025, Brazil will hold the position of president of Cop and has made the decision to invite the entire world to the Amazon by hosting the event in Belém. The country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has already secured the Cop bid two and a half years in advance. Australia will need to secure hosting rights in the coming months.

I have visited nearly twelve conferences and recognize that the government has a significant amount of tasks to accomplish in order to successfully host the world’s biggest climate convention.

To introduce an updated Australia, a large landing strip will be necessary. This version must focus on producing and exporting solutions for climate change, rather than contributing to the issue itself.

Source: theguardian.com