‘Fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs’: UN boss pushes Australia to go further

Detailed summary

The outgoing secretary-general’s comments came before Anthony Albanese told the COP31 leaders’ summit that Australia was playing its part as a renewable energy and climate action leader.

Antalya, Turkey: The head of the United Nations is pushing countries to step up their climate commitments and fully phase out fossil fuels, urging more ambition at this year’s global climate conference than Turkey and Australia’s focus on electrification.

Outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres’s comments came before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the COP31 leaders’ summit in Antalya, where Energy Minister Chris Bowen is presiding over negotiations, that Australia was playing its part as a renewable energy and climate action leader.

“This is an historic moment for my country. Australia is proud to be playing a leading role with Turkey on climate change negotiations for the world at this United Nations Conference of the Parties … and proud to be here fighting for the interests of our Pacific family,” Albanese said on Wednesday (local time).

“COP31 must be where our cooperation delivers practical results. Unlocking investment in clean energy technologies, accelerating electrification, speeding up action for our oceans, and unlocking climate finance for those who need it most.”

But Guterres, who is making his last addresses to a major UN event before the end of his term next month, appeared to signal to Australia and Turkey that it was not enough.

“It is long past time to stop treating the transition away from fossil fuels as taboo or intractable. Now, here at COP31, we must move from discussing the transition to organising it, financing it and delivering it. I thank [Brazil] for its leadership. We must leave Antalya with clear next steps to advance this road map,” he said on Tuesday.

“I encourage the current and future COP presidencies to carry this work forward. We must give the world reason to believe in the commitment made in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels.”

Bowen and COP31 president Turkish Climate Minister Murat Kurum are calling on more than 190 nations to rapidly ramp up electrification rather than focus on fossil fuels, in the hopes of…

Guterres…

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.