Ethiopia is expected to be officially confirmed on Tuesday as the host of the COP32 climate summit in 2027, according to the president of this year’s COP30 gathering, André Corrêa do Lago, who spoke to Reuters.
However, the decision on next year’s host for COP31 remains unresolved, with both Australia and Turkey competing to stage the 2026 event. Australia has submitted a joint bid with Pacific Island nations, some of the regions most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
As per the news report, Corrêa do Lago said that participating countries reached a preliminary agreement on Monday — the opening day of COP30 in Belem, Brazil — to hold the 2027 conference in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The formal confirmation is expected on Tuesday. “I can’t imagine there being any issue,” a delegate from an industrialised country told Reuters.
Ethiopia, which launched its bid in September, had competed with Nigeria for the role. Sources told Reuters that the Bureau of African Countries unanimously endorsed Ethiopia as Africa’s candidate to host COP32.
The annual UN climate summits rotate among world regions. This year’s COP30 is being held in the Amazonian city of Belem, while the 2026 hosting decision — reserved for the “Western Europe and Others” group — has been stalled for months as neither Turkey nor Australia has withdrawn its bid.
Corrêa do Lago urged countries in that regional group to resolve the deadlock soon, warning that if no agreement is reached, COP31 will take place in Bonn, Germany, where the UN Climate Change Secretariat is headquartered.
