Secretary-General

Colleagues

This is the decisive decade for acting on the environmental challenge of climate change – and seizing the economic opportunities of clean energy.

We all grasp the scale and the urgency of our task.

We all understand the consequences of inaction: for our environment, for our economies, for our people’s way of life and for our children’s future.

Australians know the toll taken by extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more intense.

The devastation that cyclones, floods, bushfires and drought inflict on our communities.

And Australia knows we are not alone.

We are all involved.

An essential message that each of us can send to our citizens is this: it is not too late.

If we act now and move with common purpose, then we can do more than just guard against the very worst.

We can protect our environment and build a stronger and fairer economy for the next generation.

That is the optimism and determination Australia brings to this task.

Today, I present Australia’s next Nationally Determined Contribution.

Australia’s 2035 target is to reduce emissions by 62 to 70 per cent on 2005 levels.

This target is ambitious - importantly, it is achievable.

It is backed by the independent, scientific advice of our Climate Change Authority.

It will mean that over the next decade, we halve our current level of emissions.

And it will ensure Australia honours our commitment to the Paris Agreement – and its goal of keeping global temperatures below dangerous levels.

Setting targets and showing ambition matters.

It provides accountability for government – and certainty for investment.

What is most important is having the practical plan to reach our goal.

This is where Australian clean energy is the key.

Just as our traditional resources have helped power the extraordinary economic transformation of our region, our renewables can underpin new prosperity for the growing economies of the Indo-Pacific.

Our Pacific family is partnering with us in our bid to host COP 31.

We want to bring the world with us on climate change.

Not by asking any nation to forego the jobs or security its people deserve.

But by working with every nation to seize and share those opportunities.

None of us can succeed alone.

But together, we cannot fail.