Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended Australia’s progress on emissions reductions after weathering criticism from Pacific leaders for contributing to climate change.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, Albanese argued ensuring energy security was essential to maintaining public goodwill for the energy transition.

Pacific leaders are pushing for more action on rising sea levels at the meeting of the heads of 56 Commonwealth nations.

Albanese was responding to a report released by Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo, which pointed the finger at Australia, Canada and Britain over disproportionately high emissions from fossil fuel extraction among Commonwealth nations.

“They recognise the challenge of climate change doesn’t mean you can flick a switch and act immediately,” Albanese said on Friday.

“We need to make sure energy security is prioritised to make sure we have that support going forward.

“The feedback from Pacific leaders has been very welcoming of Australia’s leadership in the Pacific with climate action.”

The impacts of climate change pose an existential threat to smaller island nations in the region.

Teo said Australia was morally obliged to take stronger action on climate because its fossil fuel exports were not in the spirit of reducing emissions to net zero levels by 2050. He said Australia had signed a climate commitment with Tuvalu and should cut emissions further to honour the agreement.

“My view of that commitment is that Australia has not only given a legal commitment but is highly morally obliged to ensure that whatever action it does will not compromise the commitment that it has provided in terms of climate impact on Tuvalu,” he said.

“On that platform, I am hoping that we will be able to leverage Australia’s support and hopefully that will translate to reducing its emission levels.

It is the first time the summit, which happens every two years, has been hosted in the Pacific Islands region, giving leaders a welcome opportunity to shine a spotlight on climate impacts.

The King, who is presiding over the meeting for the first time since taking the throne, reiterated the need for greater investment in climate action.

“This year alone, we have seen terrifying storms in the Caribbean, devastating flooding in East Africa and catastrophic wildfires in Canada. Lives, livelihoods and human rights are at risk across the Commonwealth,” he said in a speech.

“I can only offer every encouragement for action with unequivocal determination to arrest rising temperatures by cutting emissions, building resilience as far as possible to both the current and forecast impacts of climate change and conserving and restoring nature both on land and in the sea.”

It was the monarch’s second call in a major speech this week for a cut to greenhouse gas emissions, following his speech at a reception in his honour at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

However, the King was more circumspect on another hot topic at CHOGM – the possibility of reparations for historic slavery. While he has previously expressed his deep regret for slavery, he did not address it directly on Friday.

“Our cohesion requires that we acknowledge where we have come from,” he said.

“I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Anthony Albanese (@albomp)

‘Above politics’

Albanese hit back at suggestions the King was being overtly political in his comments on climate change.

“In most parts of the world, with few exceptions, climate change is above politics,” he said.

“One of the first world leaders to recognise the challenge of climate change and the need to act was Margaret Thatcher.”

Following a reception on Friday night, heads of state and their partners will take part in a leaders’ retreat at a beach resort on Saturday.

Pacific affairs expert George Carter said the meeting’s Pacific venue meant leaders had the chance to see first- hand the impact on climate change. Heavy rain and localised flooding across the Samoan capital Apia on Thursday were a timely reminder of what vulnerable nations were going through, he said.

“In terms of sea level rises, this has been an issue Pacific islands have focused on this year,” he said, referencing previous meetings at the Pacific Islands Forum and United Nations General Assembly where it was brought up.

“What’s unique is the lived experience and the reality of changing weather patterns here in the Pacific.”

Albanese also held his first face-to-face meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer since the latter took office.

The pair foreshadowed an agreement on climate action to deepen investment in technologies like green hydrogen and offshore wind.

-with AAP