SA bid to host international climate conference
The state government has announced its bid to host the COP31 global climate change conference in 2026.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the Convention on Climate Change, which has 198 country parties, all of which are represented at the COP – one of the world’s biggest annual events.
The state government today said it would formally bid to host the COP31 conference in 2026, an event it said would bring more than 30,000 people into the state and provide an economic benefit of more than $500 million.
The Commonwealth has been pursuing the rights for Australia to host the event, with the state government now bidding to the Commonwealth for Adelaide to be chosen as the host city.
“South Australia is already a world leader in renewable energy and decarbonisation and hosting COP31 would firmly put our state on the global map,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
“We are a state which recognises the challenge of climate change, but we haven’t waited for others to lead, we have chosen to take world-leading action. This makes us the natural and logical choice to host COP31 in 2026.”
South Australia’s bid involved the commission of a feasibility analysis, which the state government said confirmed Adelaide has the capacity and capability to host the conference in 2026.
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The government also said the analysis confirmed Adelaide had sufficient accommodation to house the event with appropriate planning, and could “provide a safe and secure experience for all delegates”.
COP31 would be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, and would provide the state an $511.6 million quantified potential benefit according to the government, including tourism, trade and investment, as well as brand improvement.
“South Australia was the first Australian state to declare a climate emergency,” Environment Minister Susan Close said.
“COP31 will allow South Australia to demonstrate to the world how we are addressing climate change through our continued leadership in renewable energy technology.”
