At a meeting of climate diplomats, Turkey promised a world-class COP31 venue in Antalya, a seaside city that has previously hosted G20 and NATO conferences.
"We are ready to make COP31 accessible, functional and inspiring," Aysin Turpanci, an official from Turkey's directorate of climate change, told delegates at mid-year UN negotiations in the German city of Bonn.
She said Turkey's strategic position between Europe and Asia and its ability to bridge divides between developed and developing nations made it the ideal host.
As anxiety grows over the cost and availability of accommodation for this year's summit in the Brazilian city of Belem, she said Antalya boasted more than 600,000 hotel beds.
"The prices are able to serve participants from all levels," she told diplomats and non-governmental representatives at a special side event in Bonn to push Turkey's case.
Nearly 200 nations attend the annual COP summits, which rotate through five groups of countries that must nominate, by consensus, a candidate to host the marathon climate negotiations.
The "Western European and Other States" bloc is hosting in 2026 and two bids have emerged -- Turkey and Australia, which has proposed co-hosting with neighbouring Pacific Island nations.
- Persistent -
An Australian official in Bonn told AFP that Canberra was "working very hard to resolve the COP31 bid".
Earlier this month, the country's environment minister, Murray Watt, also used a platform on the world stage to push Australia's case.
"It's time for a climate COP in the Pacific region," Watt told government ministers at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
"COP31 would be an unprecedented opportunity to bring global attention to the unique challenges and opportunities in the Blue Pacific."
The Pacific is severely threatened by rising seas and worsening storms, and many small island leaders have urged Turkey to withdraw from the race.
But Ankara shows no sign of budging.
"We reiterate our candidacy for COP presidency," the country's deputy environment minister, Fatma Varank, told delegates in Bonn.
Veteran climate analyst Alden Meyer said Turkey was "definitely being very persistent in their bid".
"Everyone is wondering, what is the game here? What does Turkey really want?" Meyer, from think tank E3G, told AFP in Bonn.
"And it may or may not be anything related to climate", he added, pointing to possible trade or political goals.
What is clear -- a winning candidate is not now expected to be declared during Bonn as hoped, Meyer said.
"The decision may not be made until Belem, or just before," he said.
'Shocking' COP30 lodging costs heap pressure on Brazil
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) June 27, 2025 -
"Belem is ready," Brazilian officials have insisted ahead of the COP30 gathering in November -- but eye-watering lodging costs in the northern city have panicked many would-be attendees.
President President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has personally championed the symbolic choice of holding the major UN climate conference in the Amazon.
And with months to go before the November 10-21 meeting, work is in full swing, AFP journalists witnessed recently.
But members of national delegations, civil society, and the media have been faced with a major dilemma: how to find a room at a decent price?
"I've never seen anything quite like the situation unfolding in Belem. The soaring accommodation prices, which mean it will now cost thousands of dollars a night for even basic rooms," Mariana Paoli, with the NGO Christian Aid, told AFP.
The steep rates are "not just shocking, it is exclusionary," said Paoli, a Brazilian who has attended several UN climate summits before.
"Delegates from across the Global South, particularly grassroots activists, Indigenous leaders, and civil society groups, already face immense barriers to participation... Now, they're being priced out entirely."
In recent months, AFP has seen hotels offering rooms at $1,200 a night. On short-term rental platform Airbnb, some rates were even higher.
With a total of 50,000 people expected to attend, Claudio Angelo of the Brazilian Climate Observatory collective warned that delegations are mulling cutting back on the number of attendees.
"Everybody's concerned because at this point, five months to the date, everybody should have hotels and no one has," he told AFP in Bonn, Germany, where technical negotiations have been held over the past two weeks.
- CEO rules out relocation -
Brazil is no stranger to hosting major events, particularly in Rio de Janeiro.
After the 2016 Olympic Games and last year's G20 summit, Rio will host a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies next month.
Some have speculated about a possible last-minute move to a large city, maybe Rio.
COP30 chief Ana Toni, while sharing concerns over the lodging, ruled out any last-minute relocation to a larger city.
"Let's be very very clear, it's all happening in Belem," she told AFP in Bonn.
Toni, who also serves as Brazil's national secretary for climate change, said that the government was aware and working on solutions.
In response to the emergency, Brazilian authorities are trying to put pressure on the hotel sector.
The National Consumer Rights Bureau (Senacon) has summoned the main hotels in Belem for an inquiry into "possible abusive pricing practices," leading to accusations from the sector of "threats."
A negotiator from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) said she had received assurances from the COP30 presidency that they would receive assistance with their accommodation.
"But we have not received any communication or proposal on how this might work," she said with concern.
Several months behind schedule, an official platform offering a total of "29,000 rooms and 55,000 beds" is supposed to go online at the end of June.
Nearly half will be short-term rentals (25,000 beds), and participants will even be able to stay "on two cruise ships, with a total of 3,882 cabins and 6,000 beds."
- 'Under the stars' -
Organizers have already sought to ease pressure on Belem by organizing this year's heads of state summit before the actual COP, on November 6 and 7.
But Lula, who is seeking to position himself as a climate champion, did not hesitate to respond sarcastically to critics.
"If there are no five-star hotels, sleep in a four-star hotel. If there are no four-star hotels, sleep in a three-star hotel. And if not, sleep under the stars," Lula said sarcastically in February during a visit to Belem.
As at last year's UN biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, delegates will at least be able to enjoy an unusual option: more than 1,600 beds are available in "motels," establishments usually reserved for romantic trysts and rooms rented by the hour.
"We are adapting our establishments to accommodate visitors for overnight stays," said Ricardo Teixeira of the Brazilian Association of Motels for the State of Para.
Adapted, but not altered: some rooms will retain pole dancing bars, indoor pools or jacuzzis.
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