Pacific Island Countries have been the global leaders of climate action for nearly four decades. Since gaining independence, they have used diplomacy, coalition-building, and moral authority to set the international climate agenda.

From the creation of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in 1990, to securing the 1.5°C target in the Paris Agreement, to launching the diplomatic push to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, to leading the campaign for an International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on states’ climate obligations, Pacific nations have shaped the rules and norms that now guide the global response to the climate crisis. 

Australia, by contrast, has pursued a more conflicted path.

The result is a diplomatic dilemma. Australia wants to be the Pacific’s development and security partner of choice, while simultaneously expanding fossil fuel production that threatens the very survival of its neighbours. By seemingly taking a more transactional, geopolitical approach over genuine climate partnership, Australia risks eroding the trust and unity that has given Pacific nations their greatest strength on the world stage. 

This report contrasts the diplomatic efforts of Pacific states to protect the climate system, with the diplomatic efforts of Australia to protect the interests of the fossil fuel industry.