If you break it, fix it: Australia’s global obligations for a just climate transition.

Oxfam has released a new report today which claims that Australia needs to take more responsibility and pay its fare share of harm caused by climate change in our region – If you break it, fix it: Australia’s global obligations for a just climate transition.

The report provides new analysis on the comparative greenhouse gas emissions, vulnerability to climate impacts and financial resources of Australia’s regional neighbours.

It argues that, as Australia is one of the largest contributors to climate change in the world, both as a heavy domestic emitter of greenhouse gases and a major exporter of fossil fuels, it has a responsibility to do more to mitigate climate harm. Yet Australia spends only one sixth as much assisting low-income countries with climate change as it does on domestic climate mitigation.

To meet its fare share of climate aid, the report calls for Australia to increase it from around $600million to $5billion per year.

In context – Australia still gives around $11 BILLION to the fossil fuel industry in subsidies, while the total value of Australia’s fossil fuel exports in 2022–2023 alone was around AUD $233 billion.