PM disputes price tag attached to major climate meeting

"Commentary is commentary," Mr Albanese told reporters on Sunday.

"People are plucking figures, from who?"

Australia and Turkey are jostling for the hosting rights of the United Nations conference in 2026.

Australia's bid has been presented as a partnership with Pacific neighbours.

Climate change was wreaking havoc across the nation and wider region and urgent action was required, Mr Albanese said.

"Our Pacific family are under threat. Their very existence," he said.

"And so we need to be a part of acting on climate change. 

"We need to make sure that we act domestically, but we also engage globally as well."

Mr Albanese has written to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to resolve the hosting rights impasse.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong repeatedly refused to confirm the costs of a conference "that we haven't won the bid for yet".

She expected a resolution in coming weeks over hosting rights for the COP31 summit.

The United Nations' annual Conference of the Parties lacks provisions to break deadlocks over such disputes, with the scenario relying on one side or the other voluntarily withdrawing.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he would stand his ground and Australia remained committed to securing the 2026 conference.

On his way to join this year's summit in Brazil, he told reporters Australia had overwhelming support to host the international gathering.

Australia wanted to co-host with Pacific island nations for the first time and demonstrate how to work together to fight the "existential threat" of climate change, he said.

Mr Bowen said he would continue to discuss with Turkish counterparts during the week, while a regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia's bid.

With the United States absent from COP for the first time in three decades, China is stepping into the limelight as a leader in the fight against global warming.

Unlike previous years, when it had a modest pavilion with just a handful of seats available for mostly technical and academic panels, its display in Belem occupies prime space near the entrance next to host country Brazil.

China is also playing a more subtle role in filling the US void behind the scenes, with efforts to rally governments toward agreement.