Tuvalu’s climate minister said “opening up, subsidising and exporting fossil fuels is immoral and unacceptable”, just a day after Australia ratified a climate and security agreement with the low-lying Pacific nation.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the agreement with Tuvalu on Wednesday, saying the Pacific island nations were “fully aware of our commitment to climate change” but gas would continue to play a role.
On Thursday, Tuvalu’s Climate Minister Maina Talia joined several First Nations leaders from across the Pacific in calling on Australia to set an urgent deadline for moving away from fossil fuels.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) talks in Tonga, he said he supported efforts to create a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty because he knew fossil fuels were “killing us”.
“The development, subsidisation and export of fossil fuels is immoral and unacceptable,” he said.
“If this (PIF leaders’ meeting) aims at regional prosperity, we must address climate justice, sea level rise and the root cause of climate change, which is the burning of fossil fuels.”
Environmental groups have mobilised on the sidelines of the Pif summit to call on Australia to stop new coal and gas projects and restrict fossil fuel exports.
Albanese defended the pace of Australia’s transition plans as he and Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo ratified their new agreement on Wednesday.
The agreement recognizes that Tuvalu is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and commits the two countries to “work together in the face of the existential threat posed by climate change.”
Starting next year, Australia will offer to issue 280 visas to people from Tuvalu who wish to live, work, study or visit the country.
Australia is obliged to respond to requests for assistance if Tuvalu is faced with a major natural disaster, pandemic or military aggression.
In return for this security guarantee, Australia has the right to block Tuvalu’s security cooperation with other countries. However, Tuvalu could also terminate the treaty entirely if it objects to such intervention.
According to a recent analysis, Australia was the third largest exporter of fossil fuels by volume of energy in 2021, behind only Russia and the United States.
Teo said on Wednesday the agreement contained no concrete commitment to stop new coal and gas projects in Australia.
“But the spirit of the treaty gives us assurance that Australia will do everything in its power to support Tuvalu and the region’s efforts to combat climate change,” he told a press conference with Albanese.
Albanese said the region was mindful of Australia’s commitment, which includes generating 82 percent of its energy supply from renewables by 2030. The government has set a target to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and to achieve net zero by 2050.