Ethiopia formally launched its bid on Wednesday to host the United Nations climate change summit in 2027, proposing Addis Ababa as the venue and setting up a contest with Nigeria, which is seeking to hold the event in Lagos.
The annual two-week “Conference of Parties,” or COP, brings together nearly 200 countries for negotiations on how to tackle climate change, Reuters reported.
“We have the capacity, the facilities, the location, the connectivity to host the much-anticipated climate summit,” Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie said at a U.N. event in Addis Ababa.
COP meetings rotate among global regions, and the 54 members of the U.N.’s Africa regional group must unanimously agree on which country will host COP32 in 2027.
Presiding over a summit gives the host a pivotal role in shaping negotiations and advancing national priorities.
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African nations have long pressed for COP outcomes that secure stronger financing commitments to help them adapt to climate impacts and attract capital for clean energy projects.
At the same time, hosting the talks can bring heightened scrutiny of a country’s own climate record and polluting sectors.
Ethiopia was the first nation to ban imports of non-electric vehicles as part of its drive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Since 2022, the country’s power supply has been fully renewable, though most of its overall energy mix still comes from biofuels and waste, according to the International Energy Agency.
Summit locations are typically chosen more than a year in advance to give hosts time to prepare for tens of thousands of delegates.
Preparations for this year’s COP in Belém, Brazil, have already been overshadowed by soaring accommodation costs, with poorer nations warning that rising prices risk excluding them. Meanwhile, Australia and Turkey are competing to host COP31 in 2026.
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Image Credit: TRT Global
