The shadow foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says Labor will beef up international approaches to combating climate change, including with work in the Pacific and with Asean countries, in an effort to restore lost credibility as a consequence of repealing the carbon price.



Wong will use a speech to a climate conference in Melbourne on Tuesday to commit Labor to reinstituting the position of climate change ambassador, and broadening Australia’s work in the Pacific through the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community (formerly the South Pacific Commission) and the secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program.

The shadow foreign minister will argue Australia, if it wants to be a serious international player on global warming, needs to demonstrate constructive internationalism.

Budget earmarks $500m to mitigate Great Barrier Reef climate change Read more

According to speaking notes circulated in advance, Wong will argue regional partnerships are particularly important “whether they are Pacific island states facing catastrophic consequences from rising sea levels or Asian archipelagic and riverine delta states facing recurrent inundation of crop lands”.

Wong will say that, if Bill Shorten wins the next election, Labor will be looking for opportunities to work with organisations including the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the secretariat of the UNFCC and the Green Climate Fund, “or other nations that wish to contribute of climate change mitigation and adaptation programs in our region”.

As well as creating an ambassadorial post with a international climate change focus, Wong will commit a future Labor government to “rebuilding” the technical and professional skills of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

She will note that Australia’s foreign officials are highly proficient and dedicated “but they are spread thin, with virtually no redundancy in the system”.

“Not only have the numbers of DFAT officers posted abroad been cut over the past two decades but, more significantly, core skills have been lost”.

Wong will say that if the world is to limit global warming to two degrees, “constructive internationalists need to build the coalitions to achieve that, and to develop the evidence-based policies that are the key to concerted action”.

Great Barrier Reef: 30% of coral died in 'catastrophic' 2016 heatwave Read more

She will argue that Australian officials in the decade after Kevin Rudd ratified the Kyoto protocol “built up a valuable reputation across all the technical areas of climate policy, from carbon pricing mechanisms and accounting regimes to forests and land use”.

“We were respected for the ability of our specialists to bring a sound evidence base to the development of globally effective policy to underpin credible, durable and effective international agreements”.

“That’s what [Tony] Abbott and [Malcolm] Turnbull have given up. And as with so many of their policies – the constant hacking at the aid budget for instance – they have diminished Australia’s influence and voice in the world.”

Wong will argue the Abbott government’s decision to repeal the carbon price after the 2013 election damaged Australia’s international reputation as a country willing to pursue positive action to mitigate the risks of climate change.

“Before prime minister Abbott was elected, Australia had been building a growing reputation as a forward-thinking and serious contributor to global climate change policy, due principally to the excellent work done by senior Australian officials and our diplomats,” she will say.

“We need to restore Australia’s credibility and reputation as a creative, collaborative and energetic member of the community of nations that actually want to get on with reducing carbon pollution, designing and implementing global targets, and staying within the two degree limit – as we can and must if we are to meet our international obligations.”