Merzian said the next step must be to get rid of Australia’s domestic fossil fuel subsidies, which are in the ballpark of $11 billion, and reorienting that money towards clean energy projects.
Loading
Echoing the remarks, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Dr Susie Byers said the move must now translate into action at home.
“It’s time for Australia to turn the tap off on the billions of taxpayer dollars poured into the fossil fuel industry every year and to stop approving new fossil fuel projects.”
The so-called Glasgow statement takes its name from the original agreement which countries first signed at the COP26 summit that was hosted in Scotland in 2021.
Norway also signed the agreement in Dubai this week, meaning a majority of countries on the OECD working group on export credits have now signed.
Export credit agencies are still the biggest financiers of fossil fuels, said Luke Fletcher, executive director of Jubilee Australia, so Australia and Norway signing on shows there is growing momentum.
“G20 export credit agencies financed fossil fuels to the tune of US$33.5 billion a year. So, the more G20 countries and industrialised countries who sign on to this, the more public financing for fossil fuels will be phased out,” said Fletcher, who is also a visiting fellow of the UNSW School of Social Sciences.
One of the most contentious areas of negotiation between nations at COP28 is the language of the final agreement and whether it calls for a “phase out” or “phase down” of fossil fuels to maintain global warming at 1.5 degrees.
Participants in the talks told Agence France Presse on Monday that Australia is among developed countries, like the US, Canada and Norway who are defending the 1.5C goal but with less ambitious paths out of fossil fuels.
Merzian said the Glasgow Statement signalled Australia’s willingness to do more than ever before in terms of committing to a world beyond fossil fuels, which was “the real test of success for this COP.”
Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.