Christophe Lecourtier says he is optimistic about Australia’s ‘momentum’ and it joining a ‘coalition of countries’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

France’s ambassador has called on Australia to join the effort to avoid dangerous climate change, saying his country’s leaders had repeatedly raised the issue with the prime minister, Tony Abbott.

Christophe Lecourtier said he was optimistic Australia would make a positive contribution before December’s talks in Paris on emissions reduction goals beyond 2020.

“We remember tough discussions in Brisbane at the G20 and then we had a state visit to Sydney and Canberra; the issue was raised and discussed quite frankly,” he said.

“We had the feeling the Australian government is working on the issue. There is momentum, even here, and I hope [Australia] will join the club, join the coalition of countries.”

The UN’s climate chief, Christiana Figueres, also speaking at a Carbon Market Institute summit in Melbourne, said she was “counting on Australian leadership” at the Paris talks, but it still had “homework” to do.

Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations framework convention on climate change, said it was “critical to get our act together as quickly as possible”.

“Australia prides itself on leadership on many fields, not just cricket, and this cannot be an exception,” Figueres said at a speech at the Melbourne cricket ground, where she expressed surprise that the fabled stadium’s grass was being warmed by heaters.

“I’m counting on Australian leadership,” she said. “I can’t tell you how important it is to hear an important voice from Australia in a very, very critical group of countries.

“You represent a huge potential to lead the world into a very healthy economic diversification path. You haven’t figured out how to do that yet but that, my friends, is your homework.”

The Australian government is due to announce its post-2020 emissions reduction target in July, having waited for major emitters such as the US to do so first.

Australia’s target is a 5% reduction in emissions by 2020, based on 2000 levels.

The level of Australia’s ambition has been questioned at home and abroad. Countries including China and Brazil have queried how the Coalition’s Direct Action policy will achieve the 5% reduction, and the Climate Change Authority has recommended Australia’s “inadequate” target be raised to a 19% cut, with a 30% reduction in emissions by 2025.

Figueres, who was criticised by Abbott in 2013 when she highlighted science linking rising temperatures and bushfires, has met state and territory leaders in Australia and has stressed there was “no space” for new coal developments if a global goal of a 2C limit on warming was to be achieved.

The UN climate chief said China’s pledge to reduce its use of coal after 2020 was an “amazing commitment” which was sensible because “they have this habit in China of wanting to actually breathe air into their lungs”.

Figueres said it was important to maintain an “open mind” over the different methods to reduce emissions. There was little point dwelling on the demise of Australia’s carbon pricing system, which was scrapped by the Coalition last year.

The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, said the replacement Direct Action plan, which bought 47m tonnes of carbon abatement in its first action, had proved a “stunning” success and would be Australia’s emissions policy for the next 50 years.

“Leading is achieving and doing what you say,” he said. “Australia has achieved its Kyoto targets, we have done extraordinary things in terms of emissions intensity. Some of the critics, for political reasons, will airbrush those facts.

“Paris will succeed where Copenhagen failed. We will make a very significant and constructive contribution to a post-2020 agreement. We will not rest until such an agreement is secured. The world cannot, and I believe won’t have, another failure like Copenhagen.”

Hunt rejected suggestions that Australia was not committed to the 2C warming limit, given that the government’s energy policy is based upon a fossil fuel-dominated scenario that would lead to the world warming by 4C.

“The commitment [to the 2C limit] is absolute; the policy is crystal clear,” Hunt said. “It’s irresponsible for critics to take scenario planning and say it’s a policy objective.”

Mary Bruce Warlick, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the US government’s bureau of energy resources, used the Melbourne summit to call for a global phase-out of fossil-fuel subsidies.

“We have to stop government money going to non-renewable energy, such as coal and oil,” she said. “The US has been driving efforts to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies, which the International Energy Agency estimated at $548bn in 2013.

“Clean energy is one of the greatest economic opportunities of all time. We are working with other countries to stop global financial institutions financing dirty power stations.”

Warlick said an estimated $17t would be invested globally in clean energy between now and 2035.