Dion George, delivering the opening statement of South Africa at COP30. (Photo: Supplied / DFFE) 
By Lisandra Paraguassu, Valerie Volcovici and Simon Jessop
The choice of host for next year's COP31 remains a point of contention, however, with both Australia and Turkey vying for the 2026 event. Australia made its COP31 bid in partnership with the Pacific Islands, which are considered to be among the world's most vulnerable places to climate change.
Participating countries agreed in principle to hold the 2027 conference in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, during the first day of Brazil's COP30 on Monday, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago said.
The choice still needs to be formally adopted, which is expected to occur on Tuesday. A delegate from an industrialized country told Reuters they could not imagine why there would be a problem.
Ethiopia launched its bid in September, competing with Nigeria. But the Bureau of African Countries unanimously resolved to advance Ethiopia as the host candidate, sources told Reuters.
COP summits rotate around the world's regions. This year's conference is being held in the Amazonian city of Belem. Next year’s hosting choice within the “Western Europe and Others” group has been hung up for months, with neither Turkey nor Australia backing down.
Corrêa do Lago urged countries in the Western European group on Monday to resolve their impasse as soon as possible. If it cannot be resolved, the conference would be held in Bonn, Germany, where the U.N. climate agency is based.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu, Valerie Volcovici and Simon Jessop in Belem, Brazil; Editing by Katy Daigle and Thomas Derpinghaus)