2 days Ago By Dominic Giannini
Peter Dutton has been accosted for comments about a Pacific climate conference that could damage Australia's standing in the region. or signup to continue reading Australia is bidding to host the COP31 climate conference in 2026 in conjunction with Pacific island nations but the opposition leader rejected it, saying it would cost "tens of billions of dollars". Mr Dutton branded hosting the conference "madness" when Australians were struggling with the cost of living, saying it would also sign the government up "to giving tens or hundreds of millions of dollars out to third party countries".
It's unclear where either figure came from, with the hosting cost significantly overestimating the pricetag compared to previous conferences. The climate conference often ends with climate funding commitments but those remain a choice for the government of the day regardless of where it's held. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the numbers "are just made up".
"Peter Dutton, the guy who joked about islands being swallowed by water, now says we shouldn't co-host the COP with the Pacific, he would be a foreign policy disaster in the Pacific," he said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has chastised the opposition for not placing a big enough focus on the Pacific, saying the former coalition government abandoned the region and created a vacuum China had been able to utilise. "It's also a great opportunity to sell Australia's renewable energy resources as a renewable energy superpower.
It's the world's largest trades fair," Mr Bowen added. The South Australian government has put its hand up to host the conference in Adelaide, saying it could bring a more than $500 million boost to the state economy through associated tourism, trade and investment. Climate change is an existential issue in the Pacific, with island nations at risk of disappearing due to rising sea levels and extreme climate-related disasters, and leaders have called for fossil fuels to be phased out.
Pacific priorities are at odds with Mr Dutton's policy to turbocharge gas supply in a bid to bring down Australia's power prices, as well as his nuclear energy policy with the Pacific having a scarred history due to nuclear testing. But abandoning co-hosting with the Pacific risked damaging Australia's standing in the region, especially as China works to increase its influence in the Pacific, Climate Council fellow Wesley Morgan said. "To pull out now would be a costly move, working with Pacific nations to address climate change is key to Australian national security," Dr Morgan said.
Who hosts the 2026 conference, with Turkey also in the race, will be decided in coming months. Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data.
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