Albanese Speech at COP31 Does Not Mention Fossil Fuels

Anthony Albanese gave a speech at the COP31 UN climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, on 11 November 2026 that did not mention fossil fuels, The Guardian reported. The summit is hosted by Turkey, and its talks are presided over by Australia's climate change minister, Chris Bowen.

The speech followed moments after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the same stage that keeping the 1.5C temperature goal alive "means no new coal." Fossil fuels are coal, oil and gas, which are burned for energy. Guterres told the conference that leaders cannot keep expanding fossil fuel production while claiming to be committed to 1.5 degrees, the aim of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In his own remarks, Albanese said governments had a "solemn responsibility" to act on climate change. He said Australia was "proud to be a leader on climate action" and "proud to be a renewable energy leader." He claimed that the country had doubled its renewable energy generation in six years, to account for half of its electricity.

Albanese said Australia had pushed for a role at the summit to speak for people who need urgent action, including those from the Pacific family.

Australia's place in the global fossil fuel trade is significant. It is the world's second-largest exporter of coal for burning in power stations, and the largest exporter of coal for steelmaking. A fifth of the world's exported liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas cooled into liquid so it can be shipped, comes from Australia.

Guterres set out a timetable for the wider world. He said coal power had to fall by at least 75 per cent by 2035 to keep limiting global heating to 1.5C within reach. He said unabated coal power, meaning coal power without technology to capture its emissions, must be all but phased out by 2040, and that oil and gas use must be cut by a third.