The Australian prime minister last week insisted he would address the forum to ‘correct mistruths’ about the Coalition’s action on emissions reduction
Scott Morrison does not yet have a speaker’s spot at a global climate ambition summit this weekend despite telling parliament last week he intended to use an appearance at the event to “correct mistruths” about the government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction.
A government spokesman on Monday night said Australia had been invited to participate in the 12 December summit “both personally by [British] prime minister Boris Johnson during a phone call with prime minister Morrison, and again in writing by the leaders of hosting nations: the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Chile and also the United Nations”.
But diplomatic sources have told Guardian Australia there had been debate among the co-hosts including Britain – which is hosting the next major climate conference in Glasgow in 2021 and has taken a leading role in calling on countries to do more – over whether Morrison should be approved to speak at the summit given the widespread view Australia is a laggard on climate commitments.
Australia does not at this point have final confirmation that it will be granted a speaking slot and a government spokesman confirmed: “The final speaker list is a matter for the event hosts.”
Australia’s high commissioner in London, George Brandis, is currently back in Canberra, in part to help aid Australia’s preparations for the virtual summit. Brandis flew into the nation’s capital on Sunday.
The countries hosting the summit wrote to national leaders in October calling on them to make ambitious new commitments to combat the climate crisis in return for a speaking slot.
They said such slots would be given only to leaders who set stronger targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade; announced a long-term strategy to reach net zero emissions; made a new financial commitment to help developing countries; or put forward ambitious policies to adapt to locked-in climate change.
As reported by Guardian Australia, the letter stated “we hope to see you in December with a bold new commitment” but noted there would be “no space for general statements”.
There has been speculation in some media that Australia had been granted a speaking slot and would use it to confirm it would drop its bid to use controversial “carryover credits” to help meet the 2030 emissions target it set as part of the Paris agreement.
While Morrison telegraphed a potential shift on carryover credits to business leaders in a recent speech, the Coalition has resisted calls for it to set a net zero emissions or carbon neutrality target for 2050 despite the goal being backed by more than 100 leaders, all Australian states and multi-national companies.
Following the inauguration of Joe Biden as US president in January all members of the G7 and China will have a net zero goal.
The Morrison government was criticised for its plan to use the credits at the Madrid climate summit a year ago. It has said it does not plan to increase its 2030 emissions target – a 26-28% cut below 2005 levels – and stopped making contributions to the global climate fund which was set up to help developing countries respond and adapt to the crisis.
Britain last week announced it would increase its 2030 target to a 68% cut compared with 1990 levels. The European Union is meeting this week to decide on a potential 55% cut.
The host countries have asked leaders to specify what they will say in pre-recorded videos to be played at the summit before being granted a slot. More than 60 countries had been given slots by Monday.
The Climate Change Authority recommended in 2015 that Australia should be cutting emissions by at least 45% and up to 65% by 2030 to play its part under a meaningful global deal.
During the previous sitting week, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, asked Morrison in parliament whether he intended to attend the 12 December summit and whether he proposed making a meaningful announcement.
Morrison did not attend a UN climate action summit in New York last year despite being in the US to visit the Trump administration at the time. Speaking slots at that event were also reserved for countries announcing new commitments.
But the prime minister was clear about his intentions for this week’s event. He told Bandt he would be attending the summit and it would be “a great opportunity to correct the mistruths spoken by the leader of the Greens”.
The independent MP Zali Steggall said the host countries should not offer Morrison a speaking slot unless he committed to net zero by 2050.
Steggall, who has a climate change bill before parliament, said if the prime minister did “not have sufficient authority in his party room” to set the goal he should allow a conscience vote.
“As the rest of the world moves forward in drastically reducing their emissions, the government appears unable to commit to anything other than not cheating by counting carryover credits – and this still has to be passed in the party room,” she said on Monday.
Australia’s position on net zero by 2050 was a focus of last week’s Australasian emissions reduction summit hosted by the Carbon Market Institute.
Nigel Topping, who has been appointed by Johnson as “high level climate action champion” for the Glasgow conference, told reporters on Thursday that Australia was “on track for the wooden spoon” on climate change, but had a chance to be a leader in new energy systems based on renewables and hydrogen.
Topping said he did not know if Morrison had been confirmed to speak at the 12 December event, but noted it was an “ambition summit”.
“Without a commitment to net zero 2050 it would be very surprising to me if there is an Australian voice on the stage,” he said.
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