In response to Australian PM at the UN High-Level Event on Climate Action
For immediate release
In response to remarks by Australian Prime Minister Albanese, at the UN High-Level Event on Climate Action and the Just Transition, Oil Change International Public Finance Manager Laurie van der Burg, said:
“Prime Minister Albanese spoke about the climate threats facing Pacific nations while leaving out a dirty truth that Australia continues to produce and export the coal and gas that fuel those threats [1]. During the Pacific Island Forum this month, Australia’s environmental agency approved an extension of the Saraji coal mine to operate until 2055, a concerning backdrop for a speech touting to protect the Pacific [2]. Australia clearly needs to get its priorities straight – for its own energy security and affordability and for the protection of its pacific neighbors and the rest of the world. As president of negotiations at COP31, Australia needs to deliver a roadmap for a fair and funded fossil fuel phaseout.”
To the editor:
[1] Based on our 2025 report Planet Wreckers: The Global North Countries Fueling the Fire Since the Paris Agreement, Australia leads all top 15 producers in terms of the rate of increase in production since 2015 – its gas and oil output rose by 77 percent, driven by a doubling of gas production.