South Australia, climate advocates and the Pacific have united in their disappointment after Australia's failure to secure the 2026 UN climate conference.
Anthony Albanese's government spent three years campaigning to bring COP31 to Adelaide, only to admit defeat on Thursday and compromise with rival Turkey.
Climate Minister Chris Bowen will be the lead global negotiator for the year up to the conference, but the summit itself will be held in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas had lauded the summit as an "incredible opportunity for South Australia on so many fronts" worth an estimated $511.6 million to his state.
On Thursday, he said he understood the government's move given the "frankly obscene" decision-making process.
"Its very clear that the rest of the world largely would have preferred COP to be in Adelaide," he told journalists.
"It wasn't able to be achieved ... that's life."
The UN process used to decide COP hosting and presidencies are made on consensus, which effectively hands veto rights to each country.
South Australian Alex Rafalowicz, the director of the global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, agreed Australia's failure reflected a flawed process.
"Outdated, obscure and consensus rules often stop more progressive proposals succeeding, even if they are more popular," he said.
Greens leader Larissa Waters suggested the government's pursuit of the summit was a cynical "greenwashing" of its climate record.
"The PM never really wanted to host a climate conference that needed him to be honest about the future of coal and gas while his mining corp mates are watching," she wrote on social media.
Climate NGOs shared their disappointment to miss out, while rallying around the mission behind the UN climate conferences.
"Whatever the forum, whoever the president, the urgency and focus cannot change, and phasing out fossil fuels and ending deforestation must be at the core of the COP31 agenda," Greenpeace Australia chief executive David Ritter said.
The Greens, Greenpeace and other climate groups lashed Australia's record as one of the top three exporters of fossil fuel emissions on the planet.
Tongan-Australian advocate 'Alopi Latukefu said a pledged "pre-COP" meeting in the Pacific held promise.
"Should leaders come for meetings of any sort in our region ... let us not lose the opportunity to highlight the resilience of the Pacific, but also the stark realities and choices being made daily by those most impacted," he said.
Mr Rafalowicz said the negotiation leadership role would give Australia the chance to power Pacific ambitions.
"As president of the COP, Bowen will need to find a way to address the ticking time bomb of fossil fuel extraction plans," he said.
"The Pacific are already leading on this, I hope he can step up to meet them."
