Türkiye holds the presidency and its environment minister, Murat Kurum, is the COP31 President. Australia’s climate minister, Chris Bowen, holds a separate title, President of Negotiations, and runs the negotiating process.
This is not how a COP normally works. One country hosts, and its nominee presides over everything. Türkiye and Australia both bid to host COP31 and neither withdrew, so at COP30 in Belém they agreed to split the job. The written modalities give Bowen authority over the negotiations from the close of COP30 to the close of COP31, and make him a Vice-President of the COP. Türkiye keeps the hosting, the venue, the Green Zone, the pavilion space and the wider Action Agenda.
The split is not entirely settled in practice. In September 2026 Türkiye stated publicly that it holds the final decision at COP31 despite Australia running the negotiations. For anyone planning to be in Antalya, the working rule is simple: negotiation questions go to the Australian team, and everything about the building goes to the Turkish presidency.
Australia also sets the Pre-COP agenda with its Pacific partners, and proposes the Youth Champion, who is then appointed by Türkiye.