Australia and Turkey are vying to host COP31, and the Australian government hopes Turkey will exit the race in time for an announcement before next week.
The hypocrisy of Australia’s bid is demonstrated by it being one of only 16 countries that emitted more than a 1% share of global CO2 from fossil fuels in 2023, having an economy 85% fossil fuelled, being the world’s 5th largest coal producer and 7th largest gas producer, and being one of only 19 countries that in 2023 were collectively responsible for global production of at least 88% of coal, and 78% of oil and gas.
Doubling down on hypocrisy, the state of South Australia has made a pitch for the conference if Australia’s bid is successful. In 2023, the energy and mining minister for the same South Australian government, led by Premier Malinauskas, told a conference of the oil and gas industry in the capital, Adelaide, that his state government was “at your disposal”.
Australian states now have harsh anti-protest laws, with South Australia have the largest fines, of up to $50,000 and three months in prison for obstructing a public place. This legislation was rushed through by the Malinauskas government less than a day after a rally outside the annual oil and gas conference in Adelaide briefly closed traffic.
Recent Australian anti-protest laws are so severe that they’ve drawn international attention from the global NGO Human Rights Watch.
The bids by the Australian and South Australian governments only serve their own political and economic ambitions, and further degrade what little credibility remains of the UNFCCC.