by Georgia Reissen
Summary
This report outlines the historical and ongoing impact of international obligations and climate action efforts on Australia’s environmental policies. This report was shaped by the most significant current issue for Australia’s international climate agenda, our ultimately unsuccessful bid to host COP31 (Conference of Parties). In the context of Australia’s reputation on climate change and the behaviour of the current government, it is understandable that Australia was not viewed as an appropriate host. Although Australia has demonstrated some compliance with treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, and promotes norms aligned with the international environmental agenda, this compliance has been characterised by compromise and contradiction. Significant effort is required to rehabilitate Australia’s image from being a climate laggard to a climate leader. The recent opinion of the International Court of Justice, which holds that states have obligations to respond to climate change as a matter of human rights, establishes an additional standard for evaluating state policies.
Australia’s ‘Fossil of the Day’ Reputation Confirmed by Failed COP Bid
Australia is the sunniest and windiest inhabited country in the world, with an international image based on its unique wildlife and environments (Baxter, 2020). This includes the world’s largest intact desert, the largest intact tropical savanna, and the most extensive temperate woodland (Nature Conservancy, 2025). The Climate Council argues that Australia is uniquely positioned to drive emissions reduction and benefit from the transition (Baxter, 2020). But Australia has been lagging in its climate commitments and has taken insufficient action in combating climate change (Botrel et al, 2024), and a recognition of this tepid approach has resulted in Australia’s failed bid to host COP31 (Conference of Parties). At a speech at the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Albanese said that Australia wants to “share the economic opportunities of renewable energy” (Ryan, 2025). However, this sentiment is contradicted by the continued approval of coal and gas projects in Australia. As Greens Leader Senator Larissa Waters stated, the “world sees the massive disconnect between [the governments’] words and actions. Losing this climate conference is the result (Burden & Atkinson, 2025). The historical context of Australia’s international obligations and climate action provides a possible explanation as to why the bid failed and why the Prime Minister’s efforts were perhaps too little, too late. This context includes Australia’s history at COP, the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol and Australia’s image as a climate laggard within the international climate community.
Tensions between ecological and economic concerns illustrate Australia’s hallmark resistance to the international climate regime. Australia’s climate policy of limited environmental improvement has been described as a holding pattern of being “unwilling to advance ahead of other countries”, but equally not wanting to fall behind (Papas, 2017). This attitude is due to several factors. Both major parties have exhibited tensions over the issue of ‘protection or development’. Indeed, the mindset of “‘statist developmentalism’ in which the state itself is involved in sponsoring development,” has characterised Labor and Liberal’s environmental approaches (Crowley, 2021). A focus on development partly explains Australia’s decades-long reluctance towards climate policy and emissions reductions, and the constant cycle of “inconsistency, rollback, and failure”(Crowley, 2021). On the international stage, this ‘inconsistency, rollback, and failure’ has been demonstrated by Australia’s priorities at previous Conference of the Parties (COP). COP is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and these conferences have been marred by failed negotiations due to countries, including the Australian government, blocking commitments on issues such as carbon markets, climate finance and adaptation strategy, delaying international negotiations (Verschuer, Melville-Rea & Merzian, 2021). At COP15, Australia (under Labor government) attempted to negotiate an agreement that would limit global warming to 2°C and reduce global emissions by at least 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050, this failed, and the outcome of the conference was a consensus on a limit global warming of 1.5°C as enshrined by the Paris Agreement (Morgan, Carter & Manoa, 2024). Since this conference, Australia has continued to oppose international mining negotiations that prevent fossil fuel interests and advocated for clean coal as part of meeting its Paris target (Crowley, 2021). Despite Australia being a signatory of the 2016 Paris Agreement, we are the only country to repeal carbon pricing, and Australia’s ranking on the annual Climate Performance Index is low (Park & Gunaydin, 2024). At COP25, Australia was awarded “Fossil of the Day” by environmental NGOs for several reasons including being a wealthy nation and major climate polluter (Crowley, 2021). COP26 had no demonstrable effect on Australian policy as the Coalition highlighted technological solutions, such as electric vehicles while reassuring the coal industry that it will be thriving for decades to come (Lee et al 2024). These contradictory actions continue to frame Australia’s reputation as a climate laggard.
The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2005, with Australia ratifying in 2007, and was the world’s first major international treaty to set binding greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries (Crowley, 2021). These targets were designed to meet climate goals cost-effectively. Australia’s initial target under Kyoto was to limit emissions growth to 8% above 1990 levels by 2012, a figure that would set a precedent for future policy making (Blythe, 2025). This was demonstrated by the delay in implementing a carbon pricing regime between 2007 and 2012, which granted the fossil fuel industry a reprieve from taking action to reduce carbon emissions (Newman & Head, 2015). Today, Australia has signed or ratified nearly 100 environmental treaties (Parliament of Australia, 1999), and a review of the Commonwealth’s environmental powers concluded that the Commonwealth has the power to implement and pass laws that give effect to these treaties, but that this power is often a “matter of choice rather than compulsion” (Dovers, 2013). The review also highlighted that addressing international environmental problems will require international cooperation and bold policies. The ALP government has set Australia’s 2035 climate change target at a range of 62% to 70% reduction on 2005 emissions (Albanese, Chalmers & Bowen, 2025). Despite this target, Australia continues to approve the expansion of coal and gas projects and to export enormous quantities of fossil fuels, which are Australia’s most significant contribution to the crisis. Emissions from Australian coal and gas burned in other countries are more than double our domestic emissions (Morgan, 2025). Furthermore, this target has been abandoned by the Coalition, which has also abandoned efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050 by claiming that it will cost $9 trillion when the actual cost is more likely to be $300 billion, and this will be far cheaper than the costs of continuing inaction on climate (Morton, 2025). Indeed, the ageing nature of major thermal power plants provides an opportunity to shift to clean energy and for Australia to reduce emissions and overcome the current weak national policy on climate change (Botrel et al, 2024). This failure to achieve emissions reduction and pursue a lower-carbon economy is endemic in the Australian political landscape (Crowley, 2021) and is harming Australia’s international standing.
The issue of international obligations in environmental politics and climate justice has been reshaped by a landmark opinion from the International Court of Justice (IJC), which has made it clear that inaction on climate change is unlawful and that states have binding international obligations to address it, which go beyond existing agreements (ICJ, 2025). As argued by Nikki Reisch, Director of Climate and Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law, this opinion has made clear that the “era of impunity for big polluters,” is over, and no state is immune to the impacts of climate change or above climate obligations (ICJ, 2025). Yet Australia remains the third-largest exporter of fossil fuels worldwide (Denniss & Behm, 2021). This is demonstrated by the extension of the North West Shelf gas project, which critics argue will damage Australia’s credibility as a climate leader, and leaders in the Pacific have expressed grave concern (Staszewska, 2025). Despite this, the Albanese government has justified the project by arguing that it is about “energy security [and] community support for action” (Staszewska, 2025), and that the Australian Government is committed to action on climate change and determining its own policies. Pacific leaders want Australia to move away from coal and gas and make new financial commitments to help island nations adapt to climate impacts (Morgan, 2022). This has come to fruition with Australia’s commitment to the Green Climate Fund, which promotes private-sector financing for low-emissions and climate-resilient projects in new markets to encourage adaptation and mitigation in response to climate change (Beeson, McDonald, 2013). In line with our behaviour in other international fora, Australia has refused to support Pacific Island states in global climate negotiations. Pacific leaders are especially disappointed that Australia has lost the COP31 bid as a joint Australia-Pacific COP would have been vital in highlighting the critical impact of climate change on security, economies and livelihoods in the Pacific (Fotheringham, 2025). But Senator Hodgins-May’s comment that the “[Prime Minister’s] words about the Pacific ring hollow while he’s ignoring the pleas from island nations to stop opening new coal and gas mines” (Burden & Atkinson, 2025) seems an appropriate summation of Australia’s spiritless approach to climate action.
Although Australia has demonstrated some compliance with treaties and promoted norms aligned with the international environmental agenda, this compliance has been characterised by compromise and contradiction. Australia’s lobbying efforts to host COP31 were partly indicative of shifting diplomatic priorities and domestic politics, as well as a recognition that adopting a new climate approach is critical to improving our diplomatic reputation. COP hosts are typically expected to set a positive example by improving their domestic climate action and international diplomacy (Eckersley, 2022). Greater commitments to clean energy and to partnering with the Pacific, a region highly vulnerable to climate change, would have enabled Australians and the international community more broadly to demonstrate strong leadership. The promotion of a more positive international climate agenda will challenge Australia’s environmental politics, and not in the way the government intended. Australia’s approach to climate politics continues to be dominated by tensions between ecological and economic concerns. For Australia to meet its international obligations, there must be more effective public policy and increased investment in clean energy technologies (Botrel et al, 2024). Australia must enact meaningful progress on climate change to rehabilitate our international standing on the issue.
Bibliography
Albanese, Anthony, Jim Chalmers and Chris Bowen. “Setting Australia’s 2035 climate change target.” Prime Minister of Australia. 18 September 2025. https://www.pm.gov.au/media/setting-australias-2035-climate-change-target
Baxter, Tim. “Primed For Action: A Resilient Recovery for Australia.” Climate Council. May 2020. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/report-primed-for-action.pdf
Beeson, Mark, and Matt McDonald. “The Politics of Climate Change in Australia.” The Australian Journal of Politics and History 59, no. 3 (2013): 331–48.
Blythe, Louis. “Kyoto Protocol and Its 2025 Impact on Australian Climate Policy.” Cockatoo (blog). 10 May, 2025. https://cockatoo.com.au/kyoto-protocol-australian-policy-2025/
Botrel, Clara Almeida, Saphira Rekker, Belinda Wade, and Syvannah Wilson. “Understanding the Lobbying Actions Taken by the Australian Renewable Energy Industry.” Journal of Cleaner Production 434 (2024): 1-13.
Burden, Gemmia and Caroline Atkinson. “Labor Shunned By COP Thanks To Half-Hearted Hypocrisy.” Australian Greens. 20 November, 2025. https://greens.org.au/news/media-release/labor-shunned-cop-thanks-half-hearted-hypocrisy
Climate Action. “International Court of Justice Issues Landmark Climate Ruling.” Climate Action. 24 July 2025. https://www.climateaction.org/news/international-court-of-justice-issues-landmark-climate-ruling
Crowley, Kate. “Fighting the Future: The Politics of Climate Policy Failure in Australia (2015–2020).” WIREs Climate Change 12, no. 5 (2021): 1-11.
Crowley, Kate. “The Politics of the Environment in Australia.” In The Oxford Handbook of Australian Politics, edited by Anne Tiernan and Jenny M Lewis. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Denniss, Richard, and Allan Behm. “Double Game: How Australian Diplomacy Protects Fossil Fuels.” Australian Foreign Affairs, no. 12 (2021): 49–68.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “Report on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Australian Government. 2018. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/sdg-voluntary-national-review.pdf
Dovers, Stephen. “The Australian Environmental Policy Agenda.” Australian Journal of Public Administration 72, no. 2 (2013): 114–28.
Eckersley, Robyn. “Australia hopes to change climate reputation at COP27.” Monash University. 8 November 2022. https://www.unimelb.edu.au/climate/news-and-events/news/australia-hopes-to-change-climate-reputation-at-cop27
Fotheringham, Caleb. “Pacific climate leaders ‘deeply disappointed’ as Australia loses bit to host COP31.” Radio New Zealand. 21 November, 2025. https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/579573/pacific-climate-leaders-deeply-disappointed-as-australia-loses-bit-to-host-cop31
International Court of Justice. “Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.” International Court of Justice. 23 July 2025. https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/187/187-20250723-pre-01-00-en.pdf
Lee, Meg, Wolfgang Babeck, Natalie Bannister and Brendan Tobin. “COP26 outcomes and Australia’s pathway to net zero.” Hall & Wilcox. 17 November 2021. https://hallandwilcox.com.au/news/cop26-outcomes-and-australias-pathway-to-net-zero/
Morgan, Wesley. “G’Day COP27: Australia’s Global Climate Reset.” Climate Council. November 2022. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Gday-COP27-Australias-Global-Climate-Reset-Single.pdf
Morgan, Wesley, Salā George Carter, and Fulori Manoa. “Leading from the Frontline: A History of Pacific Climate Diplomacy.” The Journal of Pacific History 59, no. 3 (2024): 353–74.
Morton, Adam. “Factchecking five Coalition claims about net zero, from power prices to the $9tn cost.” The Guardian. 16 November, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/16/coalition-net-zero-emissions-claims-factcheck-electricity-price-power-bill-cost
The Nature Conservancy. “Australia: A Land That Inspires the Imagination.” The Nature Conservancy. 2025. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/australia/stories-in-australia/australia-a-land-that-inspires-the-imagination/
Newman, Joshua, and Brian Head. “Categories of Failure in Climate Change Mitigation Policy in Australia.” Public Policy and Administration 30, no. 3–4 (2015): 342–58.
Papas, Maureen. “The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement – Taking Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change: How Is Australia Likely to Fare?” Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 20, no. 1 (2017): 94–114.
Park, Susan, and Eda Gunaydin. “Australia as an Ecocidal Middle Power.” Australian Journal of International Affairs 78, no. 4 (2024): 395–417.
Ryan, Brad. “Anthony Albanese addresses UN on climate goals, Gaza and Australia’s security council bid.” ABC News. 25 September 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-25/albanese-united-nations-general-assembly-speech/105815200
Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Committees. “Implementing Australia’s International Obligations.” Parliament of Australia. February 1999. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Completed_inquiries/1999-02/enviropowers/report/c04
Staszewska, Ewa. “Australia’s battle to take out a rival bid and host its ‘biggest diplomatic summit ever’.” SBS News, 26 September 2025 5:37AM AEST, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/how-australia-could-become-an-energy-superpower-as-pm-works-to-secure-cop31/r8vn79fyh
Verschuer, Rhiannon, Hannah Melville-Rea, and Richie Merzian. “What is Australia bringing to COP26?” The Australia Institute. October 2021. https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/COP26-Brief-The-Australia-Institute-WEB.pdf
The post Australia’s failed bid to host COP31 appeared first on UNAA.