Bowen Defends Albanese COP31 Speech That Omitted Fossil Fuels
Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen rejected criticism that Anthony Albanese's COP31 speech skipped fossil fuels. He called it a clear call for climate action, as UN chief António Guterres urged nations to end fossil fuel use.
Australian Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has defended Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's speech at the COP31 UN climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, after criticism that it never mentioned fossil fuels. Bowen called the address "a very strong and a very clear call for climate action".
Bowen is chief negotiator at the summit, which Australia is co-hosting with Turkey. He spoke in an interview at the talks.
Albanese did not mention coal, oil or gas, the main drivers of human-induced global heating. Minutes earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had urged countries to make fossil fuels "go the way of the dinosaurs". "The dinosaurs did not have a lobby. Fossil fuels do," Guterres said.
Guterres and leaders from several countries, including Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands, are pushing for roadmaps to move energy systems away from fossil fuels.
Bowen's response
Bowen pointed to the COP28 summit in Dubai in 2023. "The call to transition away from fossil fuels in our energy system was an Australian suggestion," he said.
Asked whether Australia should publish a national transition roadmap, he cited the existing net zero plan, which sets out how to reach net zero emissions by 2050. "They're called plans, but they could just as easily be called roadmaps," he said. He described Australia's targets as "ambitious and achievable".
Australia is the world's second-largest exporter of coal for power stations and the largest exporter of coal for steelmaking. A fifth of the world's exported liquefied natural gas comes from the country.
Australia is on track for its 43% emissions reduction target by 2030. Current policies fall far short of its 2035 target of a 62%–70% cut.
Electrification pledge
Australia and Turkey have launched a "35-by-35" electrification pledge and are asking other countries to sign up. The pledge does not say how much of the electricity should come from renewable sources.
Bowen said almost all electrification helps. It is best when paired with a big expansion of renewables, he said, but replacing fossil-fuelled equipment still cuts emissions.
He said electricity makes up about 23% of Australia's energy mix and has been growing by 0.3% a year. "We have no chance of keeping at 1.5°C if that rate of electrification continues," he said.
Lobbyists at the summit
Organizers will publish the number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending within days. About 1,600 attended the COP30 talks in Brazil last year.
Bowen said he understood concerns about their influence, but argued they cannot be barred if the public wants an open summit. Ministers alone negotiate, he said.
"When I'm negotiating with other ministers, there's no lobbyists in the room. Fossil fuels or renewable energy, they're not allowed in," he said.
