Germany could step in for Chile as host of UN climate summit

The former German capital Bonn could become the venue for the next UN climate summit COP25, after the government of Chile has said it has to cancel the event originally planned in its capital Santiago in December due to persisting violent unrest in the South American country. "In 2017, we hosted COP23 in Bonn. As the state government, we'd like to help make COP25 happen," a spokesperson of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Bonn is located, told the public broadcaster WDR. Being the seat of the UN climate change secretariat UNFCCC, Bonn is the climate summit's default venue if no other host can be found. UNFCCC executive secretary Patricia Espinosa confirmed that the organisation is looking for an alternative location. Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary in Germany's environment ministry (BMU), said on Twitter that organising the conference would be a logistical challenge for Bonn. "It's also not desirable to hold it [the climate summit] in the global North more often," he added.

The COP (conference of the parties) is the UN's most important forum to discuss international action against climate change and draws tens of thousands of participants. In 2017, Bonn hosted the event on behalf of the government of the small Pacific island state of Fiji, which although holding the COP presidency could not act as a host due to logistical difficulties.  At this year's conference, the parties want to resolve open questions regarding the Paris Climate Agreement.