Pacific governments at a UN local weather summit are criticising Australia’s plans for a large gasoline business growth in Western Australia, saying it might lead to 125 occasions extra greenhouse gasoline emissions than their island nations launch in a 12 months.
Because the Cop29 summit within the Azerbaijani capital of Baku begins its second week, representatives from Vanuatu and Tuvalu have referred to as on Australia to cease approving new fossil gas developments, together with a proposal to increase the lifetime of Woodside’s North West Shelf gasoline facility till 2070.
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s particular envoy for local weather change, stated Australia was “not acting in good faith” when it stood alongside Pacific leaders on the worldwide stage and promoted its local weather credentials whereas persevering with to approve coal and gasoline initiatives.
“As the world’s third largest fossil fuel exporter, the Australian government is exporting climate destruction overseas, including to Pacific nations like Vanuatu, who experience the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis, despite contributing the least,” he stated. “This is climate injustice.”
Regenvanu urged Australia to do extra to handle accelerating local weather impacts and again up an settlement on the Cop28 summit in Dubai final 12 months that the world wanted to transition away from fossil fuels.
Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s local weather change minister, stated pursuing efforts to restrict world heating to a mean 1.5C – a headline purpose of the landmark 2015 Paris local weather deal – was “not just a number” however a “lifeline for Pacific communities facing rising seas, accelerating extreme weather disasters and the erosion of our cultures”.
“We will continue to keep industrialised countries accountable for their actions,” he stated. “Our future lies solely in their hands.”
Australia’s local weather change minister, Chris Bowen, arrived in Baku on Saturday for the ministerial part of the fortnight-long talks. He’s co-leading what is taken into account an important stream of negotiations, which goal to develop a brand new world local weather finance purpose to assist creating international locations. Evaluation from a bunch of revered economists has discovered it needs to be US$1tn a 12 months by 2030.
after publication promotion
Bowen can be lobbying for Australia to co-host the Cop31 local weather summit in 2026 in partnership with Pacific international locations. Australia is competing with Turkey to host the occasion. Bowen detoured to the Turkish capital of Ankara en path to Azerbaijan for conferences to attempt to attain settlement within the consensus-based decision-making course of on the place the summit can be held. Turkey later stated it had deliberate to proceed with its marketing campaign.
Pacific leaders are largely supporting the Australia bid for what has been described as “the Pacific Cop”, and have argued it ought to concentrate on lifting commitments to chop emissions and help probably the most susceptible within the area. Their feedback, together with by the leaders of Tonga and Palau final week, have highlighted the renewed stress that may come on Australia to behave on fossil gas exports whether it is profitable.
Talking in Azerbaijan, Maina stated a partnership between Australia and Pacific nations to co-host Cop31 can be “an exciting opportunity to accelerate ambitious climate action in our region” however “a commitment to end new fossil fuels must lie at the heart of this”. “That means no new coal and gas, and a fair, fast phase-out of all fossil fuels,” Maina stated.
Activists say emissions from the gasoline processed on the plant on the Burrup Hub, in WA’s north, might lead to as much as 6bn tonnes of emissions as soon as it was exported and burned abroad. The Australian authorities additionally authorized an growth of three thermal coalmines that might result in greater than 1bn tonnes of emissions when the gas is burned.
Bowen informed Guardian Australia he agreed the most important impression Australia might have on the local weather was to switch fossil gas exports with renewable vitality exports, and argued the nation was aiming to change into a “renewable energy superpower”, however stated it was a giant process that might take time. He stated slicing off fossil gas provide earlier than there have been replacements and whereas others nonetheless exported coal and gasoline was “not the way you get this job done”.
On Friday, the Australia authorities stated it was committing $125m to bettering vitality safety and energy grid transition within the Pacific. Bowen stated: “Each step we take to fight climate change is a step back from the brink, and Australia is dedicated to working with our Pacific neighbours to make sure our next steps are the right ones.”
An evaluation of Australia’s local weather efficiency by Local weather Motion Tracker final week rated the nation’s commitments as “insufficient” to dwell as much as what it needs to be doing to play its half in responding to the local weather disaster. It discovered Australia’s finance commitments have been “critically insufficient”.
The evaluation stated Australia had launched a number of measures geared toward stimulating funding in renewable vitality and clear industries but additionally doubled down on fossil fuels. Invoice Hare, from Local weather Motion Tracker, stated emissions throughout the nation from fossil fuels have been “flatlining”, however this had been masked by modifications in authorities estimates of emissions from forests.
Shiva Gounden, from Greenpeace Australia Pacific, stated Australia would “be judged by its actions, not its words”.
“To be a true partner of the Pacific, we ask the government to genuinely respond to Pacific needs. This means a fair share of contributions to the Loss and Damage fund, ending fossil fuel approvals and subsidies, and accelerating much-needed climate finance,” he stated.
