Australia slammed for “dangerous” coal addiction and climate “cosplay”

The federal Morrison government has faced heavy criticism at the 2021 Australian Emissions Reduction Summit, coming under fire for its lack of ambition on climate action and its failure to address the nation’s increasingly dangerous dependence on coal.

Speaking at the conference hosted by the Carbon Markets Institute in Sydney on Thursday, Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama said all eyes were on Australia to see more ambition, both on its 2030 emission reduction targets and on policies to break its “dangerous addiction to coal.”

“We understand the place coal occupies in the Australian economy and in Australian history and culture, but the entire world must move more quickly to end its dependency on this deadly fossil fuel,” Bainimarama told the summit from Fiji.

“We need to take this option off the table and Australia is not only in an influential position to phase out coal sales globally, it is also in a position to become a centre for global energy innovation with its abundance of indigenous renewable energy potential.”

Bainimarama said that Australia boasted a renewable energy potential that many countries would be jealous of and, if given the chance, would take full advantage of, through policies and – “very importantly” – incentives and initiatives to reshape behavior.

“Political leaders, if they are worthy of the term, have the means to guide their nations and economies,” he said.

“I know the phase down and phase out of coal is a large and bitter pill for coal producing countries and some coal dependent countries to swallow. But its benefits will outweigh its costs.

“And we will all have to swallow a lot of bitter medicine to prevent the escalation of the climate crisis.”

Speaking directly after Bainimarama, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Michele O’Neil, was equally scathing of the lack of federal policy ambition on both emissions reductions and the transition of Australia’s coal economy to a renewable future.

“Australia’s lack of a coherent plan to cut emissions is not doing workers any favors,” O’Neil told the summit.

“Politicians like to don high-vis vests and hard hats and travel to regions with carbon intensive industries and jobs and claim that they stand for jobs and against carbon taxes or moving too quickly on climate change.

“No doubt we’ll see this ramp up as we move towards [a federal] election,” O’Neil said.

“This cosplay masks the truth that workers are all too aware of – the political theater is deeply dishonest. Pretending change won’t happen, and failure to plan for the jobs of the future, is letting down Australians and particularly workers in carbon intensive industries.

“The Morrison government’s pamphlet on how we’re going to get to net zero emissions means we have no real plan for Australian jobs while the rest of the world decarbonises.

“Not only do we not have a just transition, we become policy takers, not policy makers when it comes to the profound global transition that is currently underway.”