COP31 Hosts Australia, Turkiye Pressured Over Coal Ties

Australia and Turkiye face pressure to set clear coal phase-out dates after a new report linked their coal trade to more than 75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions since the Paris Agreement.
The report by campaign group 350.org was released ahead of the Pre-COP31 ministerial meeting in Fiji. It analysed UN trade data and found the two countries have kept their coal ties while expanding into liquefied natural gas.
Australia and Turkiye are the two nations leading the 2026 UN climate summit, known as COP31, which will be held in Antalya next month. Yet neither has a coal phase-out date. The report says Australia is the world’s second-largest coal exporter and holds 56 percent of the global coal mine project pipeline. Turkiye is Europe’s largest coal-power generator.
The emissions from their coal trade equal roughly four times Ethiopia’s entire annual CO2 output. Ethiopia is set to host COP32 in 2027.
350.org warned that entrenched fossil fuel interests undermine both countries’ ability to lead a global shift away from coal, oil and gas.
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