Pacific Island countries have signalled that they will pull support for Australia to host COP31 if the government decides to extend the life of the North West Shelf Extension gas project until 2070.
A decision on the six-year-old application by Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy to extend the life of the gas project out until 2070 is expected this week after newly appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt dismissed several challenges lodged by opponents in one of his first acts in the job.
On Tuesday, Tuvalu’s Climate Minister, Dr Maina Talia linked any decision on the application directly to the survival of his country which is already experiencing the effects of climate change as sea levels rise.
“Pacific leaders have made it clear: there is no future for our nations if fossil fuel expansion continues. The North West Shelf Extension would lock in emissions until 2070, threatening our survival and violating the spirit of the Pacific-tuakoi (neighbour) climate partnership.
“This goes beyond politics; it is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change,” Talia said.
“If Australia wants to host COP31 with us, it must uphold the trust we placed in it by permanently rejecting this project. This goes beyond politics. It is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change.”
Analysis by The Australia Institute says the emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub expansion – which includes the North West Shelf Extension – would be greater than all the emissions from all of Australia’s coal power stations each year.
Talia’s comments follow an earlier intervention during the election campaign when former Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared to suggest a Coalition government would abandon the Australian bid to host COP31 saying it “will not bring down power prices” and would mean “giving tens or hundreds of millions of dollars out to third party countries.”
“In an increasingly uncertain world, Pacific leaders welcomed the Australian government’s renewed commitment to rebuilding its relationships with Pacific nations after years of neglect,” Talia told Renew Economy at the time.
“Peter Dutton’s comments serve only to open up more uncertainty, and question the nature of our friendship.”
The fresh pressure from Tuvalu comes as Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill appeared on a panel for the opening day of the Australian Energy Producers (AEP) national conference in Brisbane.
O’Neill, who also serves as AEP Chair of the oil and gas industry association, was reported by The Guardian to have told a panel that young people were hypocrites in their opposition to energy.
Asked by the panel host, Sky News journalist Chris Uhlmann, whether young people understood where their electricity came from, O’Neill replied that “most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on.”
“And it’s been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly amongst young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, ‘fossil fuel bad, renewables good’, that are happily plugging in their devices, ordering things from Shein and Temu, having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions,” she said.
Shein is an online fast fashion retailer.
Uhlmann previously released a documentary critical of renewable energy that appeared to advocate for nuclear power and the continued use of fossil fuels.
The conference opened with an address from federal resources minister Madeleine King who said reforms to environmental approvals is “a priority” of the Albanese government as it goes into its second term.
King also suggested the industry had been aggressively lobbying the government, telling the audience that “we need to work together, pulling in the same direction.”
“Forceful advocacy is one thing, and I guess it has a place, but effective advocacy should surely be the primary objective of industry?” she said.
The conference also heard from Bondi Partners lobbyist Joe Hockey by video link. Hockey, who has close ties with the Trump administration previously served as treasurer during the Abbott government and more recently as ambassador to the U.S.
The three-day conference features several appearances from state, territory and federal Coalition political figures, and comes as the industry has been raising alarm about a lack of new investment in the Australian gas industry.
A report published ahead of the conference attacked the government’s climate policies and conceded climate activists were having an effect on company’s efforts to attract investment and obtain social licence in the communities where they operate.
