Australia is fully aware of the urgency surrounding climate change and shares the global commitment to addressing it, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared in a keynote speech delivered ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.
Addressing the opening of Climate Week at the United Nations in New York on Monday, the Prime Minister noted that Australians have witnessed the consequences of climate change firsthand through devastating bushfires and floods over recent decades.
While citizens have risen to meet these challenges with resilience, Mr Albanese said it was now incumbent on political leaders to demonstrate equal courage and pursue the decisive measures required to confront the crisis.
“We need to come together and meet this problem head on,” he told the assembly.
“There is no escaping the scale of our responsibility — nor the cost of inaction.”
The Prime Minister said Australia recognised the important role it must play in supporting positive progress and building a better future for generations to come.
His government has set an “ambitious but achievable” target to cut emissions by 62–70% below 2005 levels by 2035, and said that through a combination of renewable energy supported by gas, Australia “will get there.”
“We are now a leader in home battery installation, with Australians installing 10,000 batteries every week — more than half a million over the past year,” he said.
Mr Albanese also highlighted Australia’s support for Pacific nations most affected by the climate crisis, including A$100 million contributed towards the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Additionally, the government’s REnew Pacific Program is funding climate-resilient classrooms in Vanuatu and Fiji, as well as clean energy and water infrastructure on one of Kiribati’s most remote islands. The Prime Minister said the program has “directly improved 300,000 lives.”
