MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 20 November 2025
Australia Must Deliver Real Climate Justice for the Pacific After Losing COP31 Bid
The Conservation Council of South Australia says the Albanese Government’s failure to secure the United Nations Global Climate Summit (COP31) marks a major setback for Australia’s global climate leadership and a lost opportunity for South Australia, but insists the federal government must now urgently deliver genuine climate justice outcomes for Pacific and First Nations communities.
While Australia will not host COP31, the federal government has confirmed it has secured:
- a Pacific-hosted pre-COP meeting focused on climate finance and the Pacific Resilience Facility, and
- the appointment of Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen as COP President for Negotiations.
Conservation SA welcomed these steps as meaningful gains for Pacific representation, but warned they are only the first step, and must now be matched by a fast, fair and funded phase out of fossil fuels, that aligns with the survival demands of Pacific communities.
Pacific Islands Council of South Australia (PICSA) Chairperson Rosanna Maualaivao MacDonald stated:
“Taking on the COP31 Presidency is not symbolic - it is a responsibility. Australia must use this role to centre Pacific priorities, uphold the 1.5°C lifeline, and demonstrate genuine partnership with Pacific and First Nations communities.”
PICSA's message is clear: Protect 1.5°C. Honour the Ocean. Lead with integrity and responsibility.
“Securing a pre-COP in the Pacific is an important achievement, and we acknowledge the work of Minister Bowen in securing it,” said Kirsty Bevan, Chief Executive of Conservation SA. “But real climate justice for the Pacific requires far more than process wins. It requires a fast, fair and fully funded phase-out of fossil fuels.”
Mrs Bevan added that Australia’s failure to secure an Australia-Pacific COP was not inevitable and not unavoidable.
“It was deeply frustrating and disappointing that neither Prime Minister Albanese nor Premier Peter Malinauskus travelled to Brazil to fight for an Australia-Pacific COP.”
“Australia did not miss out on hosting the world’s biggest climate conference by accident. Continuing to approve coal and gas projects made it impossible to put forward a credible bid grounded in genuine climate leadership.”
Australia must now deliver for the Pacific and First Nations at COP31
With Adelaide officially out of the running, Conservation SA is calling on the federal government to use its role in COP31 negotiations to secure outcomes that reflect Pacific and First Nations priorities, including:
- A rapid, just and permanent phase-out of coal, oil and gas
- Meeting Australia’s legal and moral obligations to prevent climate harm
- Securing First Nations & Pacific representation throughout COP31
- Scaled-up climate finance for vulnerable nations
- Ensuring communities, not fossil fuel corporations, shape the outcomes of COP31
A missed opportunity for South Australia
Adelaide was uniquely positioned to showcase world-leading renewable energy credentials at COP31. Hosting would have unlocked global investment and helped elevate South Australia’s climate leadership at a time when the state faces worsening climate impacts.
“South Australians are living through climate damage right now: marine heatwaves, escalating drought risk, intensifying bushfires and a toxic algal bloom devastating our coastline,” Mrs Bevan said. “We had a powerful story to tell. Losing this platform is a real loss.”
The path forward is unchanged and urgent
Despite its climate commitments, the Albanese Government has approved four new coal and gas projects in the past year alone, totalling more than 4.14 billion tonnes of climate pollution, in addition to 27 fossil fuel approvals in its first term.
“You cannot elevate Pacific voices at a pre-COP while actively fuelling the crisis they are fighting to survive,” Mrs Bevan said. “These positions are fundamentally incompatible.”
“Real leadership means stopping the expansion of dirty coal, oil and gas projects.”
Australia must demonstrate that it is serious about climate action by backing in the Brazil Presidency’s leadership on a roadmap for fossil fuel phase out with a clear, active public endorsement.
“Pacific nations, youth and frontline communities are calling for courage. If the government is serious about climate justice, it must now deliver strong outcomes for the Pacific at COP31 and beyond it.”
Release ends.
Media Contacts:
Kirsty Bevan, Chief Executive of the Conservation Council of South Australia
+61 431 448 133
Rosanna Maualaivao MacDonald, Chairperson of the Pacific Islands Council of South Australia