Rikki Dank Tells Albanese to Start Listening on Coal, Oil, Gas
At the Cop31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, Gudanji and Wakaya traditional owner Rikki Dank stood with Greta Thunberg and urged Anthony Albanese to stop speaking and start listening. She is one of 10 Australians in a UN human rights committee case over coal and gas exports.
Rikki Dank, a Gudanji and Wakaya traditional owner and Indigenous climate activist, told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Cop31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, to "stop speaking and start listening" on new coal, oil and gas.
Dank spoke alongside Greta Thunberg in the summit's media centre. She is taking the Australian government to the UN human rights committee over its fossil fuel exports.
Draped in traditional dress in front of a media throng, Dank urged Albanese to listen to "the Australian people when they say no more new coal, oil and gas".
"My Country is being fracked, our drinking water poisoned and our history erased as we speak," she said.
Thunberg said the situation "could not be less under control". She added: "The planet is not dying, it is being killed." Asked about Australia's slow record on climate action, she told the crowd: "Even a snail would agree with that."
The UN case
Dank is one of 10 Australians behind a complaint known as the Hard Truths case. It claims the government has failed to protect them from climate pollution, including from its coal and liquefied natural gas exports, which are among the highest in the world.
Lawyers hope for a resolution within 18 months. A committee declaration would not be legally binding. A negative finding would still embarrass Canberra and carry significant political weight, the lawyers say.
Albanese defends his speech
Australia is president of the two-week negotiations. Albanese faced criticism for a six-minute opening speech on Wednesday that did not use the phrase "fossil fuels".
He defended it. "You could pick out any number of things that were not in what was a short speech," he said. He called the speech appropriate and said it focused on climate impacts in the Pacific, including rising sea levels.
"My speech was well received by my Pacific friends," he said, standing beside Pacific leaders before a meeting of the Pacific Resilience Facility. The fund helps the region adapt to climate change and recover from disasters. Australia helped set it up with $100m.
At the open meeting, philanthropist and mining billionaire Andrew Forrest said his Minderoo Foundation had donated $5m.
The summit hosts are pushing a "35 by 35" pledge for 35% of end-use energy to come from electricity by 2035. UN Secretary General António Guterres and several countries want them to also advance a Brazilian proposal for national roadmaps to transition away from fossil fuels.
Albanese held bilateral meetings on the sidelines with Bangladesh, Lebanon, Pacific leaders and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
