Ethiopia is poised to be confirmed as the host of the COP32 climate summit in 2027, according to a report by Reuters quoting André Corrêa do Lago, president of this year’s COP30.
The formal confirmation is expected on Tuesday, following a unanimous decision by the Bureau of African Countries to advance Ethiopia’s bid over Nigeria’s. Ethiopia and Nigeria had both launched bids to host the event in September.
However, the choice of host for next year’s COP31 remains unresolved, with Australia and Turkey still competing to stage the 2026 conference. Australia has partnered with the Pacific Islands, one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, to bolster its bid.
“The choice still needs to be formally adopted, but I cannot imagine why there would be a problem,” a delegate from an industrialised country told Reuters.
COP summits rotate among the world’s regions. This year’s conference is being held in Belém, in Brazil’s Amazon region.
Within the “Western Europe and Others” group, negotiations over the 2026 host have dragged on for months, with neither Turkey nor Australia backing down. Corrêa do Lago urged member countries on Monday to resolve the impasse soon, warning that if no agreement is reached, the conference could default to Bonn, Germany, home of the U.N. Climate Secretariat.
