Australia not doing enough on climate change: Vanuatu
Vanuatu challenges Australia’s climate record as Pacific leaders push for stronger action on the climate crisis.
Thursday 03 September 2026 | 11:30
Vanuatu Minister for Climate Change Adaptation Ralph Regenvanu arrives at the official opening of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM55) in Koror, Palau, on August 31, 2026.
Photo: TMC Palau / Pasifika TV
Australia is not doing enough to address the impact of climate change, given its expansive fossil fuel production, says Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change, Ralph Regenvanu.
“Australia is a major producer of fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are the primary driver of the climate crisis. The very least a country like Australia should be doing is stopping future expansion,” he said.
However, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Sakiasi Ditoka says, from Fiji’s standpoint, Australia has done a lot for the region, while acknowledging Vanuatu’s views on the issue.
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“Australia has bent over backwards in many places to help us in the region and we are very grateful for that, and hopefully we can continue to build on that going forward,” Mr Ditoka said.
Leaders are gathered this week in Koror, Palau, for the 55th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, with climate change again high on the agenda, recognising that it is an existential threat to the region.
Next month, Australia and the Pacific will host the Pre-COP in Fiji and the leaders’ special component in Tuvalu, in the hopes that international leaders will experience firsthand the effects of climate change in the Pacific.
Pacific Community (SPC) Deputy Director General Andrew Jones says, based on scientific data, climate change will affect the region’s tuna fisheries, coastal fisheries and sea level.
Mr Jones said climate change would cause an economic crisis if global warming was not kept below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as tuna migrate out of the region’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
“Currently, 30 per cent of the world’s tuna is captured in Pacific Island countries EEZ, and this migration of tuna away from our exclusive economic zones means up to $90 million reductions in annual access fees from tuna fisheries,” he said.
“In terms of coastal fisheries, we’re going to see some areas with 65 per cent less catch.”
Mr Jones said climate change would affect agriculture and human survival if sea levels continue to rise.
