UN climate chief Simon Stiell calls for Aussie ‘ambition’ on net zero

UN climate chief Simon Stiell has called for Australia to curb fossil fuel exports as Energy Minister Chris Bowen insists national interests will determine climate targets.

UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell. Picture: AFP

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The United Nations’ top climate diplomat has urged Australia to urgently limit the exploration and export of fossil fuels, as Energy Minister Chris Bowen declares the country’s climate ambitions will be set based on its own national interest.

Amid a campaign by the Albanese government to host the next Conference of the Parties summit, UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell said all countries had been asked, through the Paris Agreement, to come back with “more ambitious climate plans” between now and 2035.

The comments follow Mr Stiell’s grim assessment of Australia’s future should it fail to land an ambitious 2035 target, arguing that settling for “what’s easy” would lead to the world overheating and fruit and vegetables becoming a “once-a-year treat”.

“For Australia specifically, there’s an incredible opportunity to demonstrate what ambition looks like, to take full advantage of all of its natural resources in the green energy space, and to accelerate its transition away from its dependence on fossil fuels to new green technologies,” he told the ABC on Tuesday.

“The science is calling for a ­collective effort for all countries to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035. Every country is in a different position. Some need to do more, and it’s following the science and the technocrats have been working feverishly over the past year-plus on what targets it can achieve, but the call is for ­ambition.”

When pressed on Australia’s export of natural gas on coal, Mr Stiell said the country “absolutely” needed to limit such activities.

“Yes, addressing your own domestic emissions is part of it, but exporting carbon emissions also needs to be addressed,” he said.

“We need to look at that global picture in terms of not just the supply of fossil fuels, but it is cutting our dependency, demand for fossil fuels. And that requires, again, global effort.”

Australia has been vying to host COP since Labor’s first term in government, arguing it should be given the opportunity over rival Turkey because of the significance to neighbouring Pacific island countries. As Mr Bowen argued the point to Mr Stiell when the two spoke in Canberra on Tuesday, Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo met with Anthony Albanese in parliament. It followed Mr Teo’s warning that while the climate crisis was “not of our making, it will certainly remake us”.

Despite Mr Bowen describing Mr Stiell as a friend ahead of their Tuesday meeting, the Energy Minister appeared to push back against his climate demands.

“Targets are easier set than met – we will set a target informed by the expert advice in the national interest,” he said on Tuesday.

“We’re delivering on climate because it’s in our national interest. Australia is producing record renewable electricity and our energy emissions are lower than when the Albanese government took office, with the country on track to achieve our emissions ­reduction goals.“

While Australia is expected to unveil its 2035 target by September, Mr Bowen said the government had not yet received the independent advice from the Climate Change Authority on the emission reductions it recommended be pursued.

Mr Bowen revealed Labor would double down on its flagship Capacity Investment Scheme, declaring the government would increase the CIS by 25 per cent in a bid to reach its 82 per cent renewables target by 2030.

The Coalition attacked the government’s “renewables-only path” on Tuesday, as opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan confirmed the party’s review of energy policies would consider the role of gas in the energy transition.

“The key focus between now and Christmas is going to be on gas ... as we continue to work through the detail of what our alternative energy policy and emissions reduction policy will be,” Mr Tehan said.