Albanese: climate security is national security

Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese gave the opening address at Climate Week in New York on Monday, saying Australians understand climate dangers from bushfires and floods and must take strong action.

“There's no avoiding the scale of our responsibility, or the cost of inaction.”

Australia chairs COP31 in two months

Albanese's speech comes two months before Australia chairs negotiations at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey. Climate advocates say he did not address cutting fossil fuel use.

Thirty-seven fossil fuel projects approved

Since his election in two thousand twenty-two, the Albanese government has approved thirty-seven new or expanded fossil fuel developments, largely for export, while renewable energy use has expanded rapidly.

Defence chief: where is the plan?

Former Australian Defence Force chief Admiral Chris Barrie said Australia cannot claim climate security leadership while approving new fossil fuel developments, and called for a clear climate security framework.

“Australia cannot credibly claim climate-security leadership overseas while failing to confront the scale of climate risk at home.”

Albanese's emissions target and batteries

Albanese said his government set an ambitious but achievable target to reduce emissions by between sixty-two percent and seventy percent below two thousand five levels by twenty thirty-five, backed by renewable power and gas.

Australia supports Pacific climate resilience

Albanese said Australia contributed one hundred million Australian dollars to the Pacific Resilience Facility and another three hundred fifty million Australian dollars to support climate resilient infrastructure in the Pacific.

Advocates: rhetoric without substance

Catherine Abreu, executive director of International Climate Politics Hub, said Albanese's speech was long on rhetoric and short on substance. With fewer than fifty days until COP31, she said Australia has not shown how it will rally countries behind an outcome meeting the climate crisis scale.

“Acknowledgment is not a plan.”

Green-washing accusation over coal and gas

Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, chief executive of First Nations-led organisation Common Threads, said it was striking Albanese did not mention acting on fossil fuels, calling it shameful to green-wash Australia's climate record while approving coal and gas projects.

“It is shameful for prime minister Albanese to green-wash Australia's climate track record on the global stage, while continuing to green-light the very coal and gas projects fuelling this crisis.”