US President Joe Biden chose AUKUS pact over greenhouse policy

Joe Biden has not pressed Scott Morrison over Australia’s ‘dismal’ record on climate change because he is prioritising building a new security architecture in the Asia-Pacific.

US President Joe Biden in Washington on Thursday (AEDT). Picture: AFP

Joe Biden has not pressed Scott Morrison over Australia’s “dismal” record on climate change because he is prioritising building a new security architecture in the Asia-Pacific, including confronting China, over international ­action on reducing emissions.

Influential US Democrats John Podesta and Todd Stern, who are close to the White House, have revealed that the US President made a calculated decision to work with Australia and Britain to establish AUKUS, and not let this be derailed by public disagreements on climate change.

“The Biden administration has not pressed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to improve his country’s dismal record on reducing emissions,” they say in a new essay.

“Morrison, of course, recently committed to partnering with the UK and the US to form a pact known as AUKUS that allows Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.”

Mr Podesta is a former chief of staff to president Bill Clinton and senior adviser to president Barack Obama on climate and energy policy. Mr Stern was special envoy for climate change under Mr Obama.

“When the climate agenda comes into conflict with traditional national security concerns, particularly issues in­vol­ving great-power competition, the administration’s commitment has wavered,” they say.

“The administration’s decision to confront China across a range of security, economic, and human rights issues is understandable, but that priority has had unfortunate consequences for safeguarding the environment.”

Writing in the journal Foreign Affairs, they say the “glaring example” of Mr Biden prioritising international security concerns, including the rise of a more assertive China, over international action on climate change is how the White House ignored Australia’s record as possibly the “worst-­performing advanced economy” on emissions reduction.

“Strengthening US security architecture in the Asia-Pacific may make sense but there was no excuse to look the other way as Morrison leads perhaps the worst-performing advanced economy on climate change,” Mr Podesta and Mr Stern write.

“If climate is going to be a central priority, the US needs to demonstrate that commitment. The Biden administration has done an excellent overall job on climate change but needs to hold firm on making (it) a top-tier concern and not let it fade in the face of other national security priorities.”

Mr Podesta, who chaired Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, is close to Mr Biden. In an interview with The Australian in March 2019, he predicted Mr Biden would win the Democratic Party nomination and defeat Donald Trump.

The essay is being interpreted in foreign policy circles in Australia and the US as reflecting the views of the White House, which is critical of the Morrison government’s climate change policies but chose not to expose this publicly as it prioritises the alliance ­relationship.