Labor leader Anthony Albanese and opposition climate change spokesman Chris Bowen reiterated the plan as they attended a renewable energy conference in Sydney on Thursday morning.
Bowen said offering to co-host the UN’s annual Conference of the Party’s meeting with Pacific Island nations would,“send the message to the world that Australia is under new management when it comes to climate”.
Albanese said that “dealing with climate change” and offering to host the COP talks would also help to strengthen relations with Solomon Islands,which has just signed a security pact with China.
But Tong,a veteran of global climate diplomacy,said such a meeting would be irrelevant if it was not backed by a clear commitment to improving Australia’s track record on climate.
“There has been too much posturing[on climate] globally and we need to see a genuine effort to transition away from fossil fuels,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter where the meeting is held. It could be held in Russia and it would not make any difference if Australia demonstrated a genuine and enduring commitment,” he said.
Supporting ongoing thermal coal exports did not demonstrate such a commitment,he said.