Australia has finally won the “fossil of the day” award – bestowed each day by young climate activists at big international climate summits.



Australia traditionally wins the award early and often, but the Paris talks had reached their 10th day before Australia got the gong – accepted, in sorrow and to loud boos, by Greens leader Richard Di Natale.

The award, shared with Argentina, recognised a speech by foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop to an Indonesian side event on Tuesday in which she said “coal will remain critical to promoting prosperity, growing economies and alleviating hunger for years to come.”

Bishop also said the world was undergoing a “profound upheaval” as it transitioned to a low carbon economy and that a strong Paris agreement was an important signal for “efficient long term investment”, but the award focused just on the coal remarks.

“In France you say ‘let them eat cake’, but in Australia we say ‘let them eat coal’,” said comedian Dan Ilic, who presented the award on behalf of the Climate Action Network.

He said Australia had backed a target to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees at the Paris summit, but “still supports the construction of the largest coal mine in the southern hemisphere, right on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.”

Jaden Harris of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition said: “the Australian government is all talk, no action. Australia is dragging its feet here in Paris, desperately spruiking the fossil fuels of the past, whilst we miss out on the opportunities from clean energy.”

“It just no longer makes sense to construct new coal projects, this train won’t be turning around. Turnbull needs to match his innovation rhetoric with reality and embrace the clean energy jobs of the future,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, widely seen as playing a blocking role in the talks, has won the award most days so far.