Australia decision to not send a government minister to next week’s major United Nations climate talks, goes against a trend that has existed since the former conservative Liberal-National government of the then Prime Minister John Howard.
Leading climate change think-tank the Climate Institute has described the situation as “highly unusual”.
Australian Greens Party deputy leader Adam Bandt said it was “understandable” that Mr Hunt was “embarrassed” by his government’s decision to scrap the carbon price, but it was no excuse to skip the global summit.
“He should be in Warsaw to face the music,” Mr Bandt said in a statement.
“Action speaks louder than words and once again the climate denialism of the Abbott government is clear from their inaction.”
Current conservative Liberal-National government Environment Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed he won’t be attending the UN conference in the Polish capital, Warsaw, as he will be in Canberra for the introduction of the carbon price repeal laws in parliament on Wednesday.
AAP Newsagency reports Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, whose department has lead role over international climate change negotiations, also will not be attending.
Instead, the Australian delegation will be led by Climate Change Ambassador Dr Justin Lee, a senior public servant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
AAP reports this was to be the first major international climate change meeting attended by the newly-elected coalition government, and its decision not to send a minister has raised eyebrows.
“It’s highly unusual,” the Climate Institute’s CEO John Connor told AAP.
“Australia’s heft is significantly undermined by not having one of its senior elected representatives there.”
Mr Connor earlier said “The Government’s commitment to credible emission targets will be tested internationally for the first time at the climate talks in Warsaw, where nations will seek to progress efforts towards finalising a new binding agreement covering pollution commitments for all major emitters in 2015.”
A government minister had attended the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP)talks since Ian Campbell headed the delegation under Mr Howard’s first government in 1997.
Labor sent climate change ministers Penny Wong and Greg Combet from 2007, except last year when the Gillard government’s parliamentary secretary on climate change Mark Dreyfus stood in for Mr Combet.
AAP reports Labor opposition climate spokesman Mark Butler said the move was unprecedented and sent a bad signal.
“The political statement that’s being made is all negative,” he told Sky News.
“Other countries are going to read into it at best with confusion and at worst that the government is walking away from global action on climate change.”
While no major decisions will be made at Warsaw, it’s expected the meeting will build momentum in the lead-up to major negotiations for a global agreement on cutting greenhouse gases in Paris in 2015.
Mr Connor said other countries were “nervous” about the direction the Australian government was heading on climate change.
He added that the Liberal-National government needed to reinforce its commitment to global action.
Mr Hunt said Dr Lee’s delegation would stand by Australia’s target of at least a five per cent emissions cut by 2020 and seek a “deep, strong international agreement”.
“In my case, we’ve got parliament over the next two weeks and I’m dealing with the legislation for repeal of the carbon tax,” he told ABC News radio.
