Albanese puts Pacific first at COP31, but critics say Australia must do more

Australia is facing questions about its climate leadership as world leaders meet in Türkiye for COP31.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for more help for Pacific nations, but climate advocates say Australia's support for new coal and gas projects undermines his message.

Negotiators will seek agreements on electrification, climate finance and adaption, while the UN is pushing for a road map to transition away from fossil fuels.

Australia's bid to lead global climate action has drawn criticism over its continued fossil fuel expansion, as Anthony Albanese calls on world leaders to help protect the Pacific.

The prime minister used the opening of the COP31 Leaders Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, overnight on Wednesday to urge countries to step up climate action and support vulnerable nations, warning Pacific communities were "pleading" for assistance.

But his appeal came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a forceful warning that the world must stop building new fossil fuel infrastructure, while climate advocates accused Australia of undermining its international leadership by continuing to expand coal and gas production.

Australia is sharing a leading role in this year's climate negotiations with host nation Türkiye, with both countries seeking to secure practical agreements on electrification, climate finance and adaption.

The summit is focused on implementing existing climate commitments rather than setting new emissions targets, but the question of how quickly countries should transition away from coal, gas and oil remains a major sticking point.

COP30 in Brazil last year failed to secure an agreement on fossil fuels, though there is now a proposed road map, including planning national energy transitions by 2028.

Mr Albanese made the plight of Australia's Pacific neighbours central to his COP31 opening address, urging world leaders to hear the pleas of nations confronting a climate crisis they had done little to create.

He recounted meeting 13-year-old Melelusi Sokotia in Tuvalu last month who told him she dreamed of becoming a doctor but feared for the future of her island home.

Mr Albanese quoted Ms Sokotia's message to the summit: "We are not asking for pity, we are asking for help and partnership".

The prime minister called for greater investment in clean energy and climate adaption, pointing to the Pacific Resilience Facility as an example of how vulnerable nations could be supported.

He also used the international stage to spruik Australia's progress on renewable energy, highlighting the rapid uptake of rooftop solar and household batteries.

Speaking at what will be his final COP as UN Secretary-General, Mr Guterres said the world was moving "far too slowly" on climate and warned time was running out to prevent catastrophic tipping points.

He said the uptake of solar power and electric cars over the past decade showed "exponential change" was "possible".

Mr Guterres argued the case for fossil fuels was "collapsing" with three-quarters of humanity dependent on imports and therefore "hostage to price shocks they did not create and cannot control".

"Recent conflicts make it clear that this is a recipe for chronic insecurity and a cost-of-living meltdown," he said.

Mr Guterres said fossil fuels must "go the way of the dinosaurs".

"That won't happen on its own," he said.

He said countries needed "credible plans" to transition away from fossil fuels, which meant "no new coal" gas or oil infrastructure.

Mr Guterres also said it was time for governments to tax the "windfall profits" of fossil fuel companies and use the funds to help vulnerable countries recover from climate damage.

A UN report released last month found the world was on course to exceed the warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius that countries agreed to pursue under the Paris Agreement signed in 2016.

Describing climate justice as the "defining challenge" of the next decade, Mr Guterres warned developing countries faced significant barriers to clean energy investment and borrowing.

"We cannot demand that countries transform their economies while denying them the means to do so," he said.

Climate advocates welcomed Mr Albanese's focus on the Pacific but argued Australia could not credibly champion the region's interests while continuing to approve new fossil fuel projects.

Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Adam Bandt accused Mr Albanese of failing to heed Mr Guterres' warning, arguing the government could not avoid scrutiny over fossil fuels.

"This is crunch time, and Australia can't keep dodging this issue," he told the ABC.

"Increasingly, Australia's got nowhere to hide."

Mr Bandt said it appeared COP31 could be the summit where countries banded together to "call out" fossil fuel expansion.

"[It] would go a long way to giving some momentum to the negotiations here, if Australia was prepared to say it's getting out of fossil fuels, it won't be exporting them into the future and is going to stop opening up new coal and gas mines," he said.

Independent MP Nicolette Boele, who has privately funded her attendance at COP, said Australia's climate leadership must first be "earned at home".

Ms Boele said the government should use COP to announce it would cap diesel rebates for heavy industry.

Climate Council's Nicki Hutley said building renewables while approving new coal and gas was like "filling the bath with the plug pulled out".

Greenpeace Australia Pacific's head of advocacy Susie Byers said to inject the momentum the COP talks "critically need" Australia must "lead by example".

"The world's most important job at Antalya is to deliver tangible action to end the fossil fuel era," she said.

Speaking at COP31, Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, who is leading negotiations, said the summit must send a "clear message" to accelerate implementation of climate action.

"Success here … means confidence for governments to act, for investors to deploy capital [and] for businesses and communities to plan for the future," he said.

Türkiye's signature initiative at COP31 is the "35 by 35" pledge to increase electricity's share of global energy consumption from about 23 per cent to 35 per cent by 2035.

Australia, Germany, Norward and Ethiopia have expressed support, while the EU has spoken positively about electrification and India is reportedly considering staying out of the pledge.

A criticism of "35 by 35" is the target doesn't explicitly require electricity to come from renewable or other clean sources.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is attending COP in his capacity as the President of the International Hydropower Association, said he was confident Australia would meet the electrification target.

He defended the goal, noting COPs were a "question of incremental progress".

"We've got to see what incremental value is being created," he said.