Spain to host summit after Chile pulls out

Madrid has offered to hold the next United Nations climate talks, the leaders of Spain and Chile announced Thursday.

The announcement came a day after Chile said it could not host the event because of intensifying protests in the country.

President Sebastián Piñera of Chile said at a news conference in Santiago on Thursday that he had heard from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain and that Sánchez had agreed to host the summit, which is scheduled to open Dec. 2 and run through Dec. 13.

Sánchez’s office issued a statement saying the two countries would collaborate. Chile would continue to hold the rotating presidency of the climate talks. In a Twitter message, Sánchez said “multilateral climate action is a priority” for both the U.N. and the European Union.

Chile’s sudden withdrawal had prompted U.N. officials to scramble to find a venue and a host country ready to accommodate an estimated 20,000 delegates. “It is encouraging to see countries working together in the spirit of multilateralism to address climate change, the biggest challenge facing this and future generations,” said Patricia Espinosa, head of the U.N. climate agency.

The annual U.N.-sponsored talks are designed to help stave off the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

They are part of the 2015 Paris climate accord, under which countries agreed to set their own targets to rein in their own greenhouse gas emissions.

The United States is the only country in the world to announce its intention to pull out of the Paris accord.