Australia will have ‘unprecedented influence’ in global climate talks after Cop31 Turkey deal, PM says
Josh Butler
Australia will have “unprecedented influence” over the upcoming UN climate discussions at the COP conference, Anthony Albanese says, welcoming an agreement which would see energy minister Chris Bowen become the “president of negotiations” while Turkey hosts the main conference.
As flagged earlier in the week, Australia came up short in its bid to co-host the COP conference with the Pacific, but last-minute agreements saw Australia extract some major concessions. In a statement this morning, Albanese said Bowen would act as the president of negotiations, which will see Australia have “exclusive authority in relation to the negotiations”, related to shaping global decision-making and global investment in clean energy industries.
Albanese said in the statement with Bowen and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong:
The Pacific will host a special Pre-Cop for leaders and others, bringing attention to the existential threat climate change poses to the region.
This will give Australia and the Pacific unprecedented influence over multilateral deliberations and actions of the global community in 2026.
Australia will also get to choose “ministerial and other co-facilitators for negotiations” as well as identifying “additional champions” for the agenda.
The Cop31 agenda will also include a session on the climate finance needs of small island developing nations, another concession aimed at supporting the Pacific.
Turkey and Australia’s Cop31 partnership is announced during at the Cop30 UN climate conference in Brazil. Photograph: Pablo Porciúncula/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 00.16 CET
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Belém declaration Australia’s ‘strongest ever statement on phasing out fossil fuels’, former climate diplomat says
Thom Woodroofe, a senior international fellow at the Smart Energy Council in Australia and a former climate diplomat said signing the Belém Declaration was the “strongest statement Australia has ever made on phasing out fossil fuels.”
This is a sliding doors moment and the strongest statement Australia has ever made on phasing out fossil fuels, which requires rapidly scaling up renewable energy.
On Australia’s responsibilities with the Cop31 hosting arrangements he said “Australia’s hands are well and truly on the helm of the international climate negotiations.”
The important thing now is what Australia actually does with the role it has. An ambitious COP31 still means Australia doing things like championing a new global rooftop solar pledge, setting a roadmap for the Pacific to become the first region in the world to achieve 100% renewables, and ratcheting up global climate ambition, including through new frameworks to ramp up electrification. We have no time to waste.
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Updated at 01.03 CET
Australia should follow Korea’s lead and phase out coal power, expert says
Dr Wesley Morgan, research associate at the Institute of Climate Risk and Response at UNSW, says Australia should follow South Korea’s example making a commitment to phase out coal-fired power:
Australia’s surprise decision to sign the ‘Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels’ is a positive sign. It suggests Australia may finally be ready to start grappling with its responsibilities as one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas.
… Australia signed the declaration just days after one of its largest markets for thermal coal, South Korea, made an international commitment to phase out coal-fired power. Australia will be better placed – economically and strategically – if it plays a leadership role in our own region for a climate-safe future. Australia has much to gain by capitalising on green export opportunities. It should modernise its energy ties with key trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, to move collectively away from risky fossil fuels as fast as possible. Australia would go some way to restoring faith with the Pacific if it stops approving new coal and gas projects.
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Updated at 00.51 CET
Experts welcome Australia signing Cop30 fossil fuel phase-out declaration but say ‘real action’ must follow
Experts have welcomed Australia’s “surprise” decision at the Cop30 climate conference to sign the Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, but called on the government to back it with real action.
Bill Hare, CEO and senior scientist at Climate Analytics, says:
Australia’s decision to sign the declaration is welcome, but is out of step with its continued approvals of coal and gas projects, most recently the North West Shelf licence extension to 2070.
It is beyond belief that the government’s proposed reforms to environmental assessment laws contain no explicit requirement to take into account the impact of greenhouse gas emissions when deciding on whether to approve them. The government often points to the safeguard mechanism but this has significant flaws, allowing companies to comply using offsets and avoid or minimise real emission reductions.
I would urge the Australian government to back up its words with clear action towards phasing out fossil fuels, starting with actually stopping new fossil developments and legislating assessment of climate impacts during environmental assessments.
Chris Bowen, minister for climate change and energy of Australia, speaks during a plenary session at the Cop30 UN climate summit in Brazil. Photograph: André Penner/APShare
Updated at 00.49 CET
Hanson-Young says under-16 social media ban risks creating ‘false sense of protection’
Asked about the impending under-16s social media ban, Hanson-Young says she is worried about the government putting in place a “false sense of protection”.
I’m worried about the kids who fall through the cracks – either are still on there when they shouldn’t be based on the age, or find themselves in even darker places on the internet.
More effective legislation would have been to target social media companies’ business models through banning advertising, Hanson-Young says:
I think one of the things that Australia should do is ban digital advertising for anyone under 18. These companies shouldn’t be able to scrape young people’s data and then target them with advertising. If that was in place, these social media companies wouldn’t care about having to have young people. It hits them at their business model.
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Updated at 00.42 CET
Hanson-Young criticises ‘pretty half hearted’ Cop31 bid
Returning to Hanson-Young’s interview, she said it was “really disappointing” Australia was not able to secure the bid to host the next Cop and that she does not believe the government tried everything.
I don’t think the diplomatic effort was put in. I think the government at a federal level was pretty half hearted about this. It seems to be an open secret amongst those close to this, that there were people within Dfat and senior members of the government who didn’t want this because of the pressure that it would bear on Australia in relation to our fossil fuel exports.
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Updated at 00.18 CET
Australia will have ‘unprecedented influence’ in global climate talks after Cop31 Turkey deal, PM says
Josh Butler
Australia will have “unprecedented influence” over the upcoming UN climate discussions at the COP conference, Anthony Albanese says, welcoming an agreement which would see energy minister Chris Bowen become the “president of negotiations” while Turkey hosts the main conference.
As flagged earlier in the week, Australia came up short in its bid to co-host the COP conference with the Pacific, but last-minute agreements saw Australia extract some major concessions. In a statement this morning, Albanese said Bowen would act as the president of negotiations, which will see Australia have “exclusive authority in relation to the negotiations”, related to shaping global decision-making and global investment in clean energy industries.
Albanese said in the statement with Bowen and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong:
The Pacific will host a special Pre-Cop for leaders and others, bringing attention to the existential threat climate change poses to the region.
This will give Australia and the Pacific unprecedented influence over multilateral deliberations and actions of the global community in 2026.
Australia will also get to choose “ministerial and other co-facilitators for negotiations” as well as identifying “additional champions” for the agenda.
The Cop31 agenda will also include a session on the climate finance needs of small island developing nations, another concession aimed at supporting the Pacific.
Turkey and Australia’s Cop31 partnership is announced during at the Cop30 UN climate conference in Brazil. Photograph: Pablo Porciúncula/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 00.16 CET
Hanson-Young criticises contradictory offers to Greens and Coalition on nature laws: ‘What does Labor want?’
Hanson-Young pointed out Labor’s contradictory offers to the Coalition and the Greens reveal a confusion in what their own objectives with the bill really are:
On one hand, [Labor are] saying they’re willing to work get a deal done with the Coalition that fast-tracks coal and gas, that makes life easier for coal and gas, that doesn’t stop rampant land clearing, that doesn’t stop the destruction of our native forests, right?
They’re happy to do that, but then, on the other hand, they’re saying, “well, we’ll work with the Greens to fix all these things.”
What does Labor actually want? What is the objective? What is the objectives of this law?
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 00.22 CET
Greens senator says party wants native forest protections as part of nature law negotiations
The Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young has appeared on ABC’s Insiders amid the government appealing to the minor party with concessions in order to pass their nature laws.
Guardian Australia yesterday revealed Labor would rule out controversial ‘national interest’ exemption for coal and gas if the Greens back the laws, noting the concession alone may not be enough to win over the party who have further demands including protection for native forests.
Hanson-Young yesterday met with the environment minister, Murray Watt, who offered a native forest logging concession – a three-year transition for regional forestry agreements to comply with the new national environmental standards.
Hanson-Young told the ABC she welcomed the progress, but the timeframe does not “in any way deal with the urgency of protecting our native forests now”.
Three more years of the destruction of our native forests when we’ve got 2,000-plus species already endangered in this country, where we’ve got billions of dollars of taxpayer money already being spent subsidising an industry that’s about destroying our native forests. I mean, it’s 2025 and it’s time we ended native forest logging, protected these beautiful, ancient forests that aren’t just there for the richness of biodiversity, but they’re so important when it comes to combating climate change, they are carbon sinks.
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Updated at 00.27 CET
Decision to challenge for leadership only came in ‘final couple of days’, Sloane says
Sloane said while it was only in the “final couple of days” she made the decision to challenge Mark Speakman for the NSW Liberal leadership, now that she is in the job she is “committed”:
I was probably finally convinced only in the final couple of days, to be honest, I had colleagues come and have chats. I have a really good relationship with Mark Speakman. It was a friendly chat with Mark. It was a hard chat, but it was a very friendly one. And then when I’m in, I’m in 100%. I think what a lot of people would do in my position is weigh up the pros and cons and think of all the reasons that I shouldn’t do it, but at the end of the day, the reasons I should outweighed those, and I’ll be a committed leader. I’m very clear eyed once I’ve made up my mind.
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Updated at 23.53 CET
Elevation to Liberal leader ‘wasn’t on my bingo card’, Sloane says
Asked whether she was an “accidental leader”, Sloane replied:
I think it’s fair to say that I wasn’t planning to be where I am right now. It wasn’t on my bingo card this year. But another friend said to me, “sometimes you don’t choose your timing. In politics, the timing can choose you.” And so I’ve always been someone who’s been prepared to jump in the deep end and have a crack, and it’s really important that we provide the difference for Labor, who I think has been an incredibly uninspiring government – very friendly, personable premier in Chris Minns, who’s a nice guy, but beneath that, there’s very little depth in that team. And we haven’t seen an ambition for New South Wales. And so I will be painting a clear ambition for New South Wales.
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Updated at 23.52 CET
Kellie Sloane says hecklers ‘not going to stop me turning up’
Kellie Sloane was interviewed on Sky News just a little earlier. Asked about her heckling in western Sydney yesterday, the new NSW opposition leader said such incidents wouldn’t stop her turning up:
I don’t think they were representative of the community that I visited yesterday. They were a few political activists that I’ve seen at a few other protests … and that’s OK, because part of the job is going to be fronting up to people who don’t always agree with what I’m saying. And it’s not going to stop me turning up, and I’m happy to have chats.
Kellie Sloane speaks to media during a visit to Parramatta. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShare
Updated at 23.51 CET
G20 leaders’ declaration supported ‘unanimously’ despite US pressure and boycott
A bit more context on Australia signing the G20 statement backing the Paris agreement, from the Associated Press:
World leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit in South Africa on Saturday despite opposition from the United States, which is boycotting the two-day talks in a diplomatic rift with the host country.
Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders’ declaration was adopted unanimously by the other members at the start of the talks in Johannesburg. Declarations are usually adopted at the end of G20 summits.
The 122-point declaration urged more global action on issues that specifically affect developing countries, like climate-related disasters and sovereign debt levels, and was promoted by the host country as a victory for the first G20 summit to be held in Africa.
The summit has been overshadowed by the US boycott ordered by president Donald Trump, and the US had put pressure on South Africa not to adopt a leaders’ declaration in the absence of an American delegation, South African officials said.
Anthony Albanese, Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa pose for a family photo on the first day of the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg. Photograph: Yves Herman/ReutersShare
Updated at 23.24 CET
Labor says latest round of housing fund will deliver 21,000 more homes
Penry Buckley
The Albanese government says it will deliver 21,000 new social or affordable homes by June 2029 under the next round of the Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff).
Under the third round of the fund, which provides loans to housing providers to build homes rather than purchasing them outright, $2.6bn will be offered from late January 2026.
A new component will focus on the delivery of homes in regional Australia, while $600m of the funding will be a dedicated to First Nations housing providers to support a 10% First Nations tenancy target across social housing delivered under round three.
The federal housing minister, Clare O’Neil, says the project will facilitate “More homes. More speed. More scale”.
Australia’s housing crisis comes from a housing shortage so all governments have to build.
The government has built 5,000 social or affordable homes since 2022, including 889 under the Haff, which was established in November 2023.
It has committed to delivering 55,000 by mid-2029. As of June 2024, there were 169,000 households on the social housing waitlist.
Australian housing minister, Clare O’Neil. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 23.20 CET
Residents in Darwin and surrounds told to continue sheltering in place
Even though the worst of the storm has passed, authorities say residents should stay in their shelters until given the all clear. The Bureau of Meteorology in its latest advice states:
[The Northern Territory Emergency Service] NTES advises people about southern Bathurst Island and very exposed coastal locations around the Cox Peninsula, should stay calm and remain in a secure shelter while the destructive winds continue. Do not venture outside. Heed the advice and follow the instructions of Emergency Services personnel and local authorities.
NTES advises people about the central and western Tiwi Islands, and elsewhere between Daly River Mouth to Cape Hotham, including Darwin, should shelter in a safe place.
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Updated at 23.04 CET
No reports so far of injuries amid trail of destruction from Tropical Cyclone Fina
Cyclone Fina has left a trail of destruction across the top end after sweeping through the Van Diemen Gulf between Darwin and the Tiwi Islands overnight.
The category three storm swept through the stretch of water bringing gale force winds just shy of those seen in Cyclone Tracy.
However, only minor damage has been found in Darwin with trees toppling along the pavement and catching the occasional fence, power lines or footpath in their wake.
There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.
Amid ongoing staffing shortages, Royal Darwin hospital was put on Code Brown – essentially emergencies only – on Friday.
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Updated at 23.39 CET
Roof collapse at Royal Darwin hospital amid heavy rain
Roofing at the Royal Darwin hospital partially collapsed on Saturday but no one was hurt.
Steve Edgington, a member of the Northern Territory legislative assembly, shared an image of the collapsed roofing and bricks strewn on the first floor of the hospital.
He said he was reassured all staff and patients are safe, with NT police incident controller Emma Carter confirming on ABC Radio Darwin that no one was hurt.
Roofing at the #RoyalDarwinHospital has partially collapsed in an area on the first floor with reports there is water in the building.
My first priority is to ensure all staff and patients are safe and I have been reassured that this is the case.
Once I have further… pic.twitter.com/WwliVn2yJj
— Steve Edgington MLA (@SteveEdgoMLA) November 22, 2025
– with AAP
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Updated at 23.03 CET
Good morning!
Tropical Cyclone Fina has swept by the Top End, after a night of damaging winds and heavy rain for residents. The category three system has moved further over the Timor Sea, and is now sitting about 80 kilometres away from Darwin.
COP30 has wrapped up, with Australia becoming one of 24 countries signing the Colombia-led Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels.
Meanwhile, G20 leaders including Australia have signed a joint statement at the summit in South Africa strengthening their commitment to the Paris agreement, despite US President Donald Trump boycotting the event.
The new NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloan, says taking the party’s top state job “wasn’t on my bingo card”, and that she was only convinced to take it “in the final couple of days”.
And the housing minister, Clare O’Neil, has announced the largest round yet under the Housing Australia Future Fund, including more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes around the country.
Let’s get into it.
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