Thom Woodroofe | Australia should be celebrated for hosting UN COP climate conference

It makes no sense that Australia's offer to host the UN Climate Conference (or COP31) in 2026 has already received political and public criticism. It harks back to the unprecedented opposition our bid for the UN Security Council a decade ago engendered. Criticism that was conveniently forgotten once we were victorious and the seat on the world's top decision making body proved crucial for spurring an investigation of Russia's downing of MH17 and the murder of 38 Australian citizens and residents.

While the government may feel they should have been more careful with what they wished for in suggesting they host COP31 "in partnership" with the Pacific who have also been forthright, this was always going to be easier said than done. But it is the right ambition to have and the right note to hit in doing so.

Coming out of a decade of inaction on climate and a decade of neglect of our region, nothing will help let the sunshine in and rally our national ambition more than putting ourselves on a global pedestal and subjecting ourselves to the important scrutiny that comes with that.

The two core criticisms against the bid are either that it is too costly, or that Australia will use it as an opportunity for greenwashing.

Yes, its true that it is likely to cost a lot to host over 40,000 delegates and probably the largest diplomatic event Australia has ever seen. And this will be more than the $100 million windfall we can probably expect in return. But if we are prepared to spend billions hosting sporting events, why would we not be prepared to spend a fraction of that helping move the global ball of climate action along.

It is also true that under this government, fossil fuel exports have increased, new coal mines have been approved, fracking has broken new ground, and more coal and gas projects are slated for development. That needs to change, and to change quickly before 2026. However, Australia is no longer on track to becoming a fully blown petrostate and you don't host a UN conference to try and hide this under the bed. If that's your intention, the result has already proven the opposite to be true.

Hosting a COP is like holding a mirror up to yourself in front of the world. It's an opportunity for us to showcase and learn from the breadth and diversity of climate action happening around the world, to push the national conversation towards doing more as we so desperately need, and to mainstream climate into our national decision making locally, nationally, and internationally through our foreign policy.

The bottom line is if we are to get on track to net zero by 2050, we need a watershed moment domestically to help accelerate that transition, and a camel's back moment to break the juxtaposition of our reliance on fossil fuel exports in particular for us to blaze a path to replacing coal on our trade balance sheet.

It is unfortunate the government didn't opt (due to our election timing) for the all-important 2025 host year when every country in the world is required to update its emissions pledges and our diplomacy could have made an even bigger difference. The state of the climate crisis still means that every year matters. And which country hosts the COP really matters.

Australia's middle power diplomatic network is therefore well placed to be one of the most successful presidencies in recent years just as the British were in Glasgow in 2021 and the French in Paris in 2015. And as we know from our own history, when we choose to make a difference on climate, we can: it was Australian diplomacy (under governments of both persuasions) that gave rise to the Antartic Treaty, to the first global temperature limit, to including agricultural emissions in countries' national accounting, and to the whole idea of bottom-up national pledges that drive the global effort today.

The new Lulu da Silva progressive government in Brazil has since won the bid to host the preceding COP30 in 2025 in Belém do Par, in the middle of the Amazon as a visible sign of their own efforts. Given the country's historical reliance on deforestation and given their relationships with China and India via the BRICS bloc, as well as their own recent years in the climate wilderness under Jair Bolsonaro, their presidency is important.

Australia is pushing for the 2026 presidency to be decided before the end of this year, rather than the end of next year which would normally be the case. A bum fight or vacuum over who in eastern Europe will host next year's gathering or at least preside over it at an existing UN venue, may hold that up.

The most important thing is keeping coal-driven Poland out of that role. Others like Switzerland that were interested in 2026 also have since fallen by the wayside, but Turkiye - a professional wrench-thrower in the UN process who use every opportunity to extract any form of concession - have since also put up their hand.

The sooner Australia can work with Brazil and the 2024 host to form a hopefully ambitious troika that each helps set the stage for the other to succeed, the better. Together, we have a chance to build a really important arc of ambition between now and 2026 that helps ensure not only countries set ambitious targets, but they then quickly get on with the job of implementing them.

Hosting a COP in partnership with the Pacific was never going to be a diplomatic lay down misère. As someone that worked as an adviser to a Pacific head of government for a number of years, I know the important moral conscience the region brings to the global climate fight. But things are rarely as organised as Canberra may want.

The fact that Vanuatu and others have already insinuated their support for Australia is dependent on their climate action is both natural and to be respected. Australia shouldn't be after unanimity from the region, it should be after a genuine partner that helps push them and others to do more.

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In the Pacific's eyes, there are some things that would certainly help make it a more attractive regional proposition though. This includes Australia rejoining the Green Climate Fund which it followed the Trump administration out the door of, and is the only major western donor not to return. However, the biggest test in the Pacific's eyes will come in the form of what target the Australian government is prepared to put on the table for 2035, having already increased its 2030 target to a 43 per cent cut on 2005 levels (up from 26 to 28 per cent) upon taking office.

That target was seen by many to have fallen short of other comparable countries like the United States which were able to bring forward at least a fifty percent reduction. Scientists are already saying that to be credible, Australia's next target for 2035 will need to represent a 67 percent reduction - an even bigger step up. The government may have avoided hosting the COP during an election year, but it will be impossible to avoid having to table this target during one.

Strategically, the government would also be well advised to consider locking in a proposed host for the important but smaller Pre-COP gathering from amongst the region. The obvious candidate is Papua New Guinea given its experience hosting large events recently like APEC. Fiji recently presided over a COP, albeit hosted at a UN venue in Germany which makes them a less obvious candidate.

Prime Minister Albanese's visit to the Pacific Islands Forum next month would be ideal timing for such an announcement and help with wider support for the region if they have more skin in the game. Forming a council of Pacific advisers might be another smart move to formalise consultation with the region, including bringing together a number of elders that have had an indefatigable impact on the global climate fight.

The bottom line is Australia isn't putting up its hand for the sake of putting up its hand, to look good, or to waste taxpayers' money. This is a huge moment for Australia's own ambition and our national conversation on climate. If we genuinely want to be a clean energy superpower, we clearly have a lot of work to do. But you start by stepping up to the plate.