(Reuters) -Ethiopia launched a bid on Wednesday to host the United Nations climate change summit in 2027 in the capital Addis Ababa, putting it in competition with Nigeria, which wants Lagos to play host.
Nearly 200 countries gather each year for the two-week “Conference of Parties” – referred to as COP – which is the main global negotiation between governments on tackling climate change.
“We have the capacity, the facilities, the location, the connectivity to host the much-anticipated climate summit,” Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie told a U.N. event in Addis Ababa.
COP summits rotate around the world’s regions. The 54 countries of the U.N.’s Africa regional group must unanimously decide who will host COP32 in 2027.
Presiding over a COP summit gives a country a key role in guiding the negotiations and a chance to push its priorities.
African countries have long demanded that COP meetings yield stronger finance deals to help them adapt to the impact of climate change and access capital for clean energy projects.
Hosting the talks can also bring increased scrutiny of a country’s polluting industries and its own climate efforts.
Ethiopia was the first country to ban the import of non-electric vehicles as part of its push towards a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
All of Ethiopia’s power has been generated by renewables since 2022, although its overall energy mix is derived overwhelmingly from burning biofuels and waste, the International Energy Agency says.
COP summit sites are typically agreed more than a year in advance, so the host country can prepare to receive tens of thousands of delegates.
Preparations for this year’s summit in Belem, Brazil, have been overshadowed by soaring accommodation prices with poorer nations warning they are being priced out of the gathering.
Australia and Turkey are vying to host next year’s COP31 summit.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Additional reporting by Hereward HollandEditing by Gareth Jones)
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