Penny Wong tells Pacific that climate hopes rest with China

Penny Wong has called out China as the world’s leading contributor to climate change as she defended Australia’s efforts to cut emissions on the first day of a post-election Pacific trip.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong delivers a speech to the Pacific Island Forum secretariat in Suva, Fiji. Picture: Daniel Walding

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Penny Wong has called out China as the world’s leading contributor to climate change as she defended Australia’s efforts to cut emissions on the first day of a Pacific trip.

The Foreign Minister was in Fiji on Tuesday when she was pressed on whether the re-elected Albanese government would commit to deeper climate action.

Defending Australia’s “substantial effort” to reduce carbon emissions, Senator Wong said the world would not hold climate increases to an agreed 1.5 to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels without deep cuts by the world’s major emitters.

“China is the world’s largest emitter. Its actions will determine whether we can achieve our target,” she said.

The minister, who was due to visit Tonga and Vanuatu, sidestepped questions about whether Labor would slow the approval of new coal mines, declaring it was green lighting more renewable energy projects than ever.

Her comments follow years of frustration in Canberra over Pacific Island nations’ singling out of Australia for criticism on climate change when the nation produces just over 1 per cent of global greenhouse emissions compared to China at nearly a third and the US at 12 per cent.

China approved more than 66GW of new coal plants last year and started work on another 94GW of coal-fired capacity – about 95 per cent of the world’s new coal power construction.

Yet Australia, which has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, is regularly targeted by Pacific Island countries as a leading climate offender.

Senator Wong and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite, left, meet with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Suva. Picture: Daniel Walding

Senator Wong said Australia, as an energy intensive and fossil fuel-dependent economy, was upfront with the Pacific about the “big task” it faced to cut emissions.

She likened it to turning round an ocean liner, but said Labor was up for the challenge, legislating “very ambitious targets”.

In an earlier speech to the Pacific Island Forum secretariat in Suva, Senator Wong said the region had the moral authority to convince the biggest emitters to do their part, urging it to “unify us in our mission to preserve our planet”.

Her comments come as Australia waits to see if it will be named as the venue for the world’s 2026 climate change conference, amid an unresolved tussle with Turkey over the hosting rights.

She said if Australia won the bid, “we will stand with you in demonstrating the urgency of this crisis to the world”.

China – the world’s No. 2 economy – is treated as a developing country under the Paris climate agreement, allowing it a slower trajectory to cut emissions. It led a call at last year’s the UN COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, for developed countries to pay more than $1.8 trillion to the Global South to address climate change.

Senator Wong was also tackled on the conditions faced by Pacific guest workers in Australia, with one reporter declaring: “Our workers are constantly becoming victims of abuse.”

The minister said the government was working with unions and employers to strengthen protections for workers.