The prime minister has defended his upcoming appearance at the UN’s annual climate summit, as Australia prepares to spearhead negotiations.
Anthony Albanese flew out on Tuesday for COP31 in Turkey, which will form part of a two-week trip through the Philippines and China for the ASEAN and APEC summits respectively.
It will be the first time an Australian prime minister has attended a COP summit since Scott Morrison in 2021.
Mr Albanese said the appearance at the climate talks would be crucial for the region.
“In Australia’s interconnected world, it is absolutely in Australia’s national interest that we stay engaged,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“If we’re not showing that leadership with the Pacific, then there are national security implications as well that will be far more costly.”
But opposition leader Angus Taylor said the prime minister should be more concerned with economic conditions domestically.
“The problem is, the prime minister and this government have wrecked the economy,” he told reporters in Victoria.
“In a normal set of circumstances, the prime minister should do these overseas trips, but it’s not a normal set a circumstances.”
Australia had sought to host the 2026 COP summit with the Pacific to showcase the impact of rising temperatures and emissions on the region.
However, the hosting rights were given to Turkey, with Australia helping to lead negotiations at the summit as part of a compromise deal.
Climate Minister Chris Bowen will be president of negotiations.
In a speech kicking off the event, he urged countries to take firmer action on climate change.
“We must move faster. We have the tools. The technologies we need are proven, commercial and scalable. What we need is to speed up deployment,” he said.
“We must help countries prepare for, withstand and recover from climate impacts.
“We must ensure that countries most exposed to climate risk have access to the partnerships, support and finance required to build resilience, both before and whenever disaster strikes.
Mr Bowen said the flooding from glacial collapses in Nepal or recent heatwaves in Europe were signs of climate change already impacting countries.
“It is not a forecast. It is not a prediction. It is the lived reality for billions of people. Its impacts are growing more frequent and intense.”
The climate summit is expected to have leaders sign a pledge for 35 per cent of the world’s energy to come from electricity by 2035.
Independent MP Nicolette Boele, who is also travelling to attend COP, said Australia needed to have tricky conversations at the summit.
“We have a really interesting dilemma. We are on path to electrify and switch our energy to renewables, but we’re also one of the largest exporters of fossil fuels in the world,” she told ABC Radio.
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