Australia fails the Pacific with weak climate target-Group
The Australian government on Thursday 18 September 2025 announced their updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), pledging to cut emissions by 62-70% by 2035 and failing to commit to phase out fossil fuels. The target is incompatible with keeping global heating below 1.5°C and undermines its bid to co-host COP31 with Pacific nations.
Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Deputy Head of Regions says,“ Anything less than a 75% cut this decade backed by a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas is not a climate plan, it’s a denial of climate justice. Pacific peoples are already living the losses that come from every fraction of a degree of warming. The supposed “sweet spot” decided by the Albanese government is nowhere near what is needed to secure our survival. Not only that, it doesn’t address the enormous burden of Australia’s fossil fuel exports, the consequences of which the children of the Pacific will have to bear.”
Jacynta Fa’amau, 350.org Pacific Campaigner says, “Australia had the chance to begin its COP31 legacy as a true climate leader and did not deliver. This target is short of what is required to keep communities in Australia and the Pacific safe. We made it clear that drawing the line at 1.5°C would require at least a 75% decrease in emissions by 2035. As a Pacific Islander living in Australia, I’m concerned for both of my homes. The Pacific has long known and lived with the severity of the climate crisis, but Australia’s new risk assessment makes it clear that this country will not be spared the consequences of climate inaction either.”
The pledge comes days after the national climate risk assessment warned of “cascading, compounding and concurrent” threats if heating exceeds 1.5°C, and days after the Albanese government approved an extension for the North West Shelf gas project until 2070.
Shani Tager, 350.org Australia Senior Campaigner says, “This target is a betrayal of the science of climate change and the communities across our region. Albanese has failed to lead and instead capitulated to the big coal and gas polluters. Today’s announcement puts us all at risk of more extreme heat, worse bushfires and unlivable towns.”
This shocking announcement adds momentum to this weekend’s global Draw the Line mobilisations, where people across the Pacific, Australia and Aotearoa will demand governments draw the line at 1.5°C and stop billionaires and fossil fuel corporations from fuelling inequality and disaster. As part of the Draw the Line mobilisations, on September 19th 350.org Pacific will be holding a virtual press conference to react to Australia’s new climate targets.
COP30 is the next critical checkpoint for the Paris Agreement where governments must arrive with NDCs aligned to a 1.5 °C pathway and ready to agree on a global deal to phase out fossil fuels while scaling up renewable energy and finance for communities already living the climate crisis. Success in Brazil will determine whether the world can still avoid the worst tipping points described in Australia’s own climate risk report, which emphasized that every fraction of a degree of global heating that can be prevented, counts.
As Australia campaigns to co-host COP31 with Pacific nations, its stance at COP30 will be under intense scrutiny. Anything less than bold leadership will undermine both global ambition and Australia’s legitimacy as a UNFCCC host.
