By Lisa Martin in Copenhagen/AAP

Australia and Turkey have flagged they will put vehicle electrification in the fast lane at the 2026 United Nations climate summit, as the world grapples with the fallout from fuel shortages stemming from conflict in the Middle East.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy of Australia Chris Bowen and his Turkish counterpart, Murat Kurum, co-hosted a ministerial meeting of 40 countries in Copenhagen this week, 20-21 May 2026, that will help shape the agenda of the COP31 conference in Antalya, Turkey.

The annual Copenhagen talks are a pit stop on the way to the main summit and a chance to road test fresh ideas in an informal setting. Mr Bowen and Mr Kurum nominated electrification as their big-ticket priority.

The transport sector accounts for 15 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, the UN says.

"Higher oil prices are putting pressure on all our citizens from Suva to Sydney to Stockholm," Mr Bowen said.

The talks emphasised that the renewables rollout also helps shore up energy independence, as countries deal with the biggest oil shock in world history.

"No one can sanction the sun, no one can blockade the wind," Mr Bowen said.

"Solar energy has to travel 150 million kilometres to earth, but it does not have to travel the 150 kilometres of the Strait of Hormuz." The ministers touched on the need for more rare earth minerals for car batteries. China has a monopoly on critical minerals processing.

"Of course, we will work with all countries that currently supply, but we also welcome other countries who are adding value for the first time," Mr Bowen said.

The growing popularity of electric vehicles – one in four cars sold globally runs on a battery – is a sign of optimism, Mr Bowen said.

Australians went from buying an electric vehicle once every 50 minutes four years ago to once every three minutes in April, Mr Bowen said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government introduced an electric car tax discount in 2022 that will be wound back over the next three years, according to the May budget.

Cars are not the only focus for electrification. Mr Kurum heaped praise on Denmark's network of 12,000km of bike paths, as acting Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard highlighted the thousands of Danish families doing the daily school and kindergarten drop off with electric cargo bikes.

"You can commute longer ... you get a more quiet city and you get clean air," Mr Aagaard said.

Pacific Islands

Pacific island nations Palau, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and Fiji were represented at the Copenhagen talks.

"The Pacific often gets sidelined at COPs... I want to change that," Mr Bowen said.

"I'll be meeting with (Pacific island ministers) almost every day during Antalya ... making sure they are fully in the loop and giving feedback to me."