Climate Integrity Summit 2024

Australian Parliament House - Theatre

The solutions exist.

The Australia Institute’s Climate Integrity Summit in 2023 established the principles that must sit at the heart of policymaking to ensure it is robust, grounded in truth and uncorrupted in all senses of the word. Now, with these principles, the opportunity exists for Australia to genuinely drive decarbonisation and clean investment, both in Australia and abroad.

At the Australia Institute’s 2024 Climate Integrity Summit, leading experts, political leaders and First Nations leaders made it clear what the solutions are, and how to implement them.

Speeches and Panel Recordings

In order of appearance.

Opening Remarks | Dr Richard Denniss

“We didn’t accidentally subsidise the fossil fuel industry. It takes effort, it takes money, it takes time. It takes resolve to cause climate change. We shouldn’t look away from what Australia is in the middle of doing.”

Video | Transcript


Keynote Address | Rt Hon Enele Sopoaga PC

“Climate integrity is a critical issue for a small atoll nation like Tuvalu. But our vulnerability should not be a bargaining chip for regional security issues.”

Video | Transcript

Enele Sopoaga speaking at the Climate Integrity Summit 2024


The Climate Crisis is an Integrity Crisis | Polly Hemming

“It is not for me to say where silence about the Australian Government’s fossil fuel expansion lies on the moral spectrum, but we have a responsibility to think about it. Silence is still a choice.”

VideoTranscript


Fairer, Cleaner: The Transparent Investment Revolution | Dr Andrew Leigh MP

“We must create a financial system in which Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into shareholder value, as much as acquisitions or sales.”

VideoTranscript


The power of political leadership and evidence-based policy | Panel

  • Bernie Fraser, Former Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia
  • Dr Monique Ryan MP, Independent Member for Kooyong
  • Dr Sophie Scamps MP, Independent Member for Mackellar
  • Dr Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory & Public Policy, University College London
    Chaired by Rachel Withers

Video


Navigating Australia & the campaign to end coal | His Excellency Anote Tong

“Climate change is the greatest moral challenge that humanity has ever had to face, and for those of us who have the capacity to stop it, are we going to do it?”

Video | Transcript


Removing the fossil fuel industry’s influence on politics and parliament | Senator Larissa Waters 

“The major parties are so hooked on fossil fuel money that they have lost the ability to govern in the public interest, instead of the interest of their donor mates.”

“The time to restore trust and integrity in our politics is now. We can do this with political financing reforms that remove the fossil fuel industry’s corrosive influence on our democracy.”

Video | Transcript


The ecosystem of accountability: Holding government and industry to account | Panel

Why is the Government prosecuting whistleblowers? And how do we tackle the social license of the fossil fuel industry?

Our second panel discussed the communications front of the fight against fossil fuels, how to protect whistleblowers, and more in a productive discussion.

Featuring:

  • Shane Rattenbury MLA, ACT Minister for Climate Change
  • Regina Featherstone, Senior Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre
  • Belinda Noble, Founder, CommsDeclare
    Chaired by Paul Karp

Video


Climate Change Action from the Western Torres Strait | Dr Aunty McRose Elu

“Australia’s response to climate change is one of the weakest in the world. Our leaders say they care, but they ignore the scientific evidence and do things that will ensure our communities will go under the water. We are running out of time.”

Video | Transcript


Gomeroi Ngaar, Bigan Ngaar (Gomeroi are strong when our Law is strong): Gomeroi, Native Title and Santos | Polly Cutmore

“Our people voted down the Santos offer. I knew no one could take that from us. But Santos and the Tribunal tried.”

“We still own the rights to the water, the land and the air. And it’s not for sale.”

Video | Transcript


Carbon Myth Industry | Mark Wootton

“If there’s nothing else you also take home from today, it’s carbon sequestration in the form of whatever you use to sequest, whether it’s trees, soil, carbon, or any other concept, it’s transitional because it’s not permanent.”

Video | Transcript

Mark Wootton speaks at the Australia Institute's 2024 Climate Integrity Summit


Redlight for Greenwashing: ASIC’s action on greenwashing | Jennifer Balding

“Greenwashing erodes trust in the market & can lead to misallocation of capital. ASIC has identified an 840% uptick over the last 3 years in companies referencing ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’ in price sensitive ASX announcements.”

Video | Transcript


Why maintaining ambition for 1.5°C is critical | Bill Hare

“By the time you get to 3°C, we’ve got 4 or 5 billion people covered by areas under extreme risk to human health. That’s one of the reasons why 1.5°C is so important – it’s not safe, but it’s about as safe as we’re going to keep this problem.”

“1.5°C is still within reach.”

Video | Transcript


Address: Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands | Tina Stege

“Words are only as good as the actions that follow. There’s no integrity in climate ambition without commensurate climate action.

“Having integrity means keeping our word, and that includes countries like Australia and other members of the G20 transitioning away from fossil fuels and doing so now.”

Video | Transcript


Closing Remarks | Dr Richard Denniss

“I love an election, we’re going to have one in a year. And the Australia Institute will do everything it can, to keep those issues that you’ve heard about today – fossil fuel expansion, fossil fuel subsidies, dodgy offsets, all sorts of things that frankly, most people weren’t talking about not that long ago, and a lot of groups still aren’t even talking about — we’ll do everything we can to keep them on the agenda.”

Video | Transcript


Gallery and Program

Download the Program

Speakers >

  • His Excellency Mr Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati
  • His Excellency Mr Enele S  Sopoaga PC, former Prime Minister of Tuvalu
  • Hon Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment
  • Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Leader in the Senate and Senator for Queensland
  • Polly Hemming, Director, Climate & Energy Program, the Australia Institute
  • Dr Aunty McRose Elu, Advocate for Torres Strait communities and climate change
  • Yuki Tanabe, Program Director, Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society
  • Jennifer Balding, Senior Manager, Investigation and Enforcement, Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  • Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, The Australia Institute
  • Polly Cutmore, Gamilaraay/Wirri/Anaiwan Elder and Traditional Owner
  • Mark Wootton, Farmer and Environmental Steward, Jigsaw Farms
  • Dr Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, member of the UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
  • Tina Stege, Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands
  • Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director, the Australia Institute

Panel #1 > We know what works: The power of political leadership and evidence-based policy

  • Bernie Fraser, Former Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia
  • Dr Monique Ryan MP, Independent Member for Kooyong
  • Dr Sophie Scamps MP, Independent Member for Mackellar
  • Dr Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory & Public Policy, University College London
  • Chaired by Rachel Withers

Panel #2 > The ecosystem of accountability: Holding government and industry to account

  • Shane Rattenbury MLA, ACT Minister for climate change
  • Regina Featherstone, Senior Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre
  • Belinda Noble, Founder, CommsDeclare
  • Chaired by Paul Karp

There is a window, albeit a rapidly closing one, for the world to stay within the limits of 1.5°C of global warming. To have any chance of achieving this, we, as a global community must dramatically and urgently change course.

As the world’s 13th largest economy and the world’s third largest fossil fuel exporter, Australia has a special responsibility to not only demonstrate courage and leadership on climate at home, but to use our wealth and creativity to help our trading partners, regional neighbours and those most vulnerable to the climate crisis to respond accordingly.

When


(ended on )

Where

Australian Parliament House - Theatre
Parliament Drive
Canberra, ACT 2600

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