We, a group of former Australian diplomats, call on Australia to adopt a new foreign, trade and development policy to meet the challenge of climate change.
Climate change is a global existential threat facing humanity, and an immediate national security threat facing Australia. Through the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow COP26 the world, including Australia, has agreed that all governments and peoples must work together to address this threat and to secure a safe, habitable planet for our descendants and future life. We welcome the reaffirmation at COP26 of the long-term goal of holding global average temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Australia will face increasing international economic, financial and political pressure to do more to ensure this goal is met.
Its people want to see decisive and urgent action by their federal, state and local governments on this front. This includes action to replace Australia’s fossil fuel dependence by exploiting our country’s potential to produce cheap and abundant renewable energy.
Australia has a choice: decisive domestic action on climate change – as advised by the best scientific and business minds - will help to mitigate the climate-induced natural disasters that our people and environment are already suffering. It will open significant economic and employment opportunities for Australians to provide the world with low-carbon commodity and manufactured exports as our major international markets increasingly demand. It will secure our reputation as a forward-leaning, reliable international partner with our major allies as well as our neighbours throughout the Indo-Pacific. It will give us the international credibility to push other major emitters to take more ambitious action.
Conversely a failure to act defers inevitable actions and imposes greater costs on future Australians. A failure to act will jeopardise our exports as other countries apply carbon border taxes or refuse to import carbon intensive products. It will jeopardise foreign investment and the ability of Australian companies to secure international finance as investors and financial institutions refuse to take on the high risks of financing carbon intensive products and projects. It will jeopardise our national security as allies and neighbours turn elsewhere for support in mitigating their own climate risk, and as our credibility as a negotiating partner diminishes. It will reduce our influence in international fora and undermine our ability to achieve our international objectives as allies, partners and competitors penalise us for not pulling our weight on climate change.
We therefore propose a framework to better address the climate change agenda in Australia’s foreign folicy, under which Australia should prioritise the following actions before the end of 2022:
- affirm in legislation a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions at the latest by 2050
- commit to strong nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, at least halving emissions by 2030
- ban new fossil-fuel projects; end coal-fired electricity generation and coal mining by 2035; phase out the use of fossil-fuels and transition the economy to renewables as soon as possible
- join global efforts to reduce methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (as well as CO2)
- affirm in legislation the commitment to end deforestation by 2030, to strengthen nature-positive policies and programs, and support nature-based GHG abatement
- support developing country partners across the Indo-Pacific to also reduce GHG emissions and transition their economies.
During 2022 Australia should commit to re-join the UN Green Climate Fund, doubling its total allocation of climate finance. Australia should champion the interests of small-island states via the fund. Australia should also commit to offering vulnerable Pacific Island nations a safe-refuge resettlement program for affected populations if their homelands become no longer habitable due to sea-level rise or other effects of climate change.
Beyond 2022, Australia’s foreign, trade and development agencies should review all policies and programs to ensure that they:
- acknowledge the threat of climate change and global warming and the urgent need for action to reduce GHG emissions
- do not undertake or support activities that result in any investment or funding for fossil-fuel projects
- require participants, partners, suppliers and clients to ensure as far as possible that their activities are carbon-neutral and do not contribute to any increase in GHG emissions
- support and promote exports of Australian green technology and expertise in renewable energy, green hydrogen, green ammonia and other green industrial processes; green agriculture and fisheries products; and all similar pro-climate business activities
- support Australia’s development partners to achieve their objectives of reducing emissions and making the green economy transition.
Under a Climate-Focused Foreign Policy the Australian government should also:
- establish bilateral and regional ministerial climate dialogues with key regional partners; and support one and two-track dialogues to discuss climate policy, best practice in emissions reduction, transitioning to a green economy and building climate-change resilient communities
- promote the rapid adoption of renewable energy in the region through bilateral business dialogues on renewables and the green economy, funding support for Australian renewable energy exporters, supporting joint renewable energy R&D projects
- refocus Australia’s aid programs to support development partners in their efforts to meet their Paris and COP commitments and support partner government agencies and civil society and business organisations to develop the regulations and skills needed to build green economies
- appoint within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade an appropriately resourced Chief Climate Change Officer whose role is to ensure that the key principles above are implemented and audited across foreign, trade and development agencies.
Australian foreign, trade and development offices in Australia and overseas should:
- be net-zero emissions compliant by 2030 wherever possible
- use only electric or zero-emission vehicles by 2030
- ensure all staff understand the key concepts of climate action, such as how to maintain net zero emissions compliant workplaces.
We acknowledge the complexity of climate change and its impacts on the planet, and that there are many different and often competing popular views on the priorities for action on climate change. We see an enduring need for enhanced public discussion of these issues, and for greater public education to assist Australians better understand the details and issues at stake, including the international and foreign policy perspectives.
We therefore urge the Australian government to work with all state and territory governments, expert academics, civil society organisations and communities, to develop a climate change public education program. This program should also normalise the values of respect for the deep knowledge of First Nations Peoples regarding the sustainable management of the environment; respect for the rights of future generations to enjoy a habitable, healthy, safe and biodiverse planet; and appreciation of the interconnectedness of global communities and understanding that what we do in our own backyard matters to others.
[email protected]
www.diplomatsforclimate.org
This document was published as a full-page advertisement in The Australian newspaper on Wednesday 8th December 2021. The following former diplomats and foreign, trade and development policy officers support this document as signatories:
|
Joanna Adamson |
former High Commissioner to Ghana and Sierra Leone, Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Togo |
|
Margaret Adamson |
former Consul General Berlin; Deputy High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea; Ambassador to Poland and Czech Republic; Ambassador to Cambodia; High Commissioner to Pakistan |
|
Dr Ruth Adler |
former Ambassador to Ireland; High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam |
|
Dennis Argall |
former Ambassador to China; Minister Washington DC |
|
Zena Armstrong |
former Consul-General for Southern China, Guangzhou; former Counsellor, Australian Embassy, Beijing; former Assistant Secretary Environment Branch |
|
Dr Kamal Azmi |
former Counsellor (Development Cooperation), Australian High Commission, Solomon Islands; former Director, G20 Domestic Resources Mobilisation Section, DFAT |
|
Dr John R Baker |
former Australian High Commissioner to Tanzania |
|
Allan Behm |
former diplomat and Head of the International Policy and Strategy Divisions, Department of Defence |
|
Dr Lucinda Bell |
former Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh |
|
Geoff Bentley |
retired Ambassador |
|
Dr Denis Blight AO |
former diplomat; Honorary Visitor ANU School of History |
|
Malcolm Brailey |
former First Secretary, Australian Embassies Kabul and Jakarta |
|
Dr Alison Broinowski AM FAIIA |
former Counsellor, Australian Mission to the UN, New York; Acting President, Australians for War Powers Reform |
|
Richard Broinowski AO |
former Ambassador to Mexico; Ambassador to Vietnam; Ambassador to the Republic of Korea |
|
Alex Brooking |
former Ambassador to Hungary; former diplomat in Russia, Belgium, Germany, Nigeria and Poland |
|
Penny Burtt |
former Deputy High Commissioner Singapore; former CEO Asialink |
|
Dr Jessie Byrne |
former DFAT officer |
|
Noel Campbell |
former Ambassador to Argentina; Ambassador to Spain; Ambassador to United Arab Emirates; Ambassador to (former) Yugoslavia |
|
John Carlson AM |
former Director-General, Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office (DFAT) |
|
Greg Carmody |
former Senior Trade Commissioner, Bangkok; Trade Commissioner, Seoul; Counsellor, OECD Delegation, Paris |
|
Alex Cassie |
former Second Secretary Australian Embassy Mexico |
|
Kenneth Chan AM |
former diplomat, Administrator of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and member of the Refugee Review Tribunal |
|
Aron Corbett |
former Consul Makassar, Indonesia |
|
Susan Cox OAM |
former Ambassador to Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau; Ambassador to Croatia |
|
Peter Dawson |
former Trade Commissioner Jakarta, Nairobi |
|
Bob Desiatnik |
former diplomat |
|
Ralph Evans AO |
former Chief Executive of Austrade |
|
Douglas Foskett |
former High Commissioner to Bangladesh; former Country Director International Organisation for Migration in Laos |
|
Roger Frankel |
former Ambassador to Venezuela |
|
George Fraser |
former High Commissioner to Nauru; High Commissioner to Kiribati; Ambassador to FSM, Marshall Islands and Palau |
|
Janet Gardiner |
former Ambassador to Syria; Ambassador to Portugal |
|
Max Gaylard |
former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Africa and the Middle East; former High Commissioner to Solomon Islands |
|
Anna George |
former Ambassador to Croatia; Alternative Representative to the OPCW, The Hague |
|
Anne Giles |
former diplomat and DFAT officer |
|
Susan Grace |
former Ambassador to Nepal; Consul-General Chennai, India |
|
Bruce Haigh |
former Deputy Head of Mission Islamabad; Visiting Representative Kabul; Director Australia-South Africa Training Trust; member Refugee Review Tribunal |
|
Robin Hamilton-Coates |
former DFAT officer |
|
Jeff Hart |
former Ambassador and UN Official |
|
Lawry Herron |
former Ambassador to Poland; High Commissioner to Kenya; Legal Counsel IAEA; Member Refugee Review Tribunal |
|
Paul Hohnen |
former Deputy High Commissioner Sri Lanka, former diplomat in Paris OECD, Fiji (South Pacific Forum Secretariat) and EU (Brussels) |
|
Lucinda Holdforth |
former DFAT officer |
|
Peter Hooton |
former High Commissioner to Samoa and Solomon Islands; Deputy Permanent Representative to UNEP Nairobi |
|
Martin Hosking |
former DFAT officer |
|
Catherine Hurst |
former Counsellor Australian Embassy, Port Moresby PNG |
|
Nicki Hutley |
former DFAT officer |
|
Di Johnstone AM |
former Ambassador to Nepal, former diplomat in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia and Kenya |
|
Miles Jordana |
former Minister-Counsellor Washington DC; FAS Int Div PM&C; Deputy Secretary National Security Attorney-General's Dept |
|
Sean Kelly |
former Consul-General for Southern China, Guangzhou; former Consul-General for Southern India, Chennai |
|
Philip Kentwell |
former High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago; Ambassador to Caribbean states and CARICOM |
|
Evelyn Killick |
former Assist Commissioner-General Shanghai Expo; Executive Deputy Director Taipei; Second Secretary Tokyo |
|
Dr David Lee |
former DFAT officer and historian 1995-2019; now Associate Professor University of New South Wales |
|
Martine Letts |
former Ambassador to Argentina; Deputy Head of Mission to the IAEA; currently CEO, Committee for Melbourne |
|
Ian Lincoln |
former DFAT officer and Ambassador |
|
Jan Linehan |
former Assistant Secretary, Deputy Legal Adviser DFAT |
|
Sandi Logan |
former Counsellor, Public Affairs Washington DC, Bonn and Port Moresby; former Assistant Secretary, Department of Immigration |
|
Jessica Lucas |
former Deputy Consul-General Port Moresby; diplomat in Mexico City, Cape Town, Bandar Seri Begawan, Stockholm and Copenhagen |
|
Annette Madvig |
former First Secretary Dili |
|
Richard Manning |
former DG AusAID |
|
Alan March |
former Australian Humanitarian Coordinator AusAID |
|
Alexander Marks |
former Manager of the Australian-Mekong Water Resources Program; former AusAID diplomat Vientiane |
|
Richard Mathews |
former Consul-General for eastern Indonesia, Makassar; Deputy Representative Taipei; First Secretary Athens |
|
Mary McCarter |
former High Commissioner to Mauritius |
|
Jackie McConnell |
former First Secretary Australian High Commission New Zealand |
|
Lyndall McLean AM |
former Ambassador to Myanmar; Deputy High Commissioner to New Zealand |
|
Heath McMichael |
former DFAT officer, APEC and Multilateral Development Banks Branches |
|
Beverly Mercer |
former Ambassador to Croatia |
|
Solstice Middleby |
former diplomat in the Pacific |
|
Geoffrey Miller AO |
former Ambassador to Japan, the Republic of Korea and High Commissioner to New Zealand |
|
Sharyn Minahan |
former Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland; Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay |
|
Elizabeth Morris OAM |
former diplomat posted to New Zealand and Nepal |
|
Charles Mott |
former Ambassador; former head of Environment and Antarctic Branch DFAT |
|
Bill Nelson |
former DFAT officer |
|
Bronwyn Nicholas |
former First Secretary, Australian Embassy, Jakarta |
|
Charles O'Hanlon |
former Austrade RD Europe; Minister and Senior Trade Commissioner Paris; Ambassador to Algeria and Tunisia |
|
Susan Oliver |
former First Secretary Bangkok |
|
Janaline Oh |
former Deputy Consul-General, Hong Kong |
|
Estelle Parker |
former Chargé d'affaires a.i. Mexico City; Deputy Ambassador to Mexico, Central America and Cuba |
|
Anthony Pearce |
former Consul General Stockholm and lead climate negotiator |
|
Ruth Pearce |
former High Commissioner to Solomon Islands; Ambassador to Russia; Ambassador to the Philippines; Ambassador to Poland |
|
Anita Planchon |
former Consul-General Noumea; Representative to the Pacific Community; Deputy High Commissioner Solomon Islands |
|
Anne Plunkett |
former Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See; Ambassador to Portugal; Deputy High Commissioner Fiji |
|
Maria Poulos Conklin |
former Chargé d’affaires Mauritius; former First Secretary France and Sri Lanka |
|
Anne Quinane |
former High Commissioner to Kiribati; High Commissioner to Malta and Ambassador to Tunisia |
|
Jacqui Rabel |
former diplomat posted to Palestinian Territories, Solomon Islands, Iran and Bougainville |
|
Peter Rayner |
former Ambassador to Portugal |
|
John Richardson |
former Ambassador to Argentina and Brazil |
|
Violet Rish |
former Vice Consul Makassar, Indonesia |
|
Robin Scott-Charlton |
former First Secretary and Counsellor (AusAID) Jakarta, PNG (twice), Timor Leste and Beijing |
|
Peter Searle |
former DFAT officer (Kuala Lumpur, Harare) |
|
Alistair Sherwin |
former DFAT officer and Humanitarian Coordinator, AusAID |
|
Tom Sinkovits OAM |
former High Commissioner to Nauru; Deputy Head of Mission Dublin; Chief of Mission International Organisation for Migration Trinidad and Tobago, China, Nepal |
|
Tanya Smith |
former Minister-Counsellor, Washington DC |
|
Robin Taylor |
former Counsellor, Australian Embassy Jakarta |
|
Rachel Thompson |
former DFAT officer |
|
John Tilemann |
former diplomat and international civil servant; member of the Australian delegation to the Rio Earth Summit |
|
Stephen Waters |
former High Commissioner to Vanuatu; Representative Taipei; Consul General Mumbai |
|
Paula Watt |
former Director Soft Power Strategy, DFAT |
|
Michael Wood |
former Consul-General Chicago |
|
John Woods PSM |
former Ambassador to Peru; former Ambassador to Venezuela |
|
Gary Woodard |
retired Ambassador |
|
Lucinda Wright |
former DFAT officer |