Pacific nations dismayed at Australia’s backing for fossil fuels, call it ‘biggest security threat’
- Ministers from Vanuatu and Tevalua condemn Australia’s long and continuing enthusiasm for coal and gas projects
- Ask why it pumps ‘billions of dollars into the industry, which [it agrees] … is the greatest threat to our security’
Pacific Islands expressed dismay on Thursday at Australia’s subsidies for fossil fuels, flagging climate concerns as a point of friction between the neighbouring nations.
Two Pacific ministers appeared in a joint livestream to condemn Australia’s long and continuing enthusiasm for coal and gas projects.
Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu welcomed Australia’s pledge last year to transition towards renewable energy but said it must stop funding climate-damaging projects.
“We are very disappointed to see that Australia continues to subsidise fossil fuel projects,” Regenvanu told The Australia Institute, a Canberra-based think tank.
“We need money in the renewable energy sector. That’s where the future of our economies and our societies lies – not in the fossil fuel industry.”
Regenvanu questioned why Canberra continues to pump “billions of dollars into the fossil fuel industry, which we in the Pacific have agreed, including Australia, is the greatest threat to our security”.
