HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, Thursday 11 September 2025 — At the Pacific Islands Forum, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) have called for climate accountability from Prime Minister Albanese, stating an approval of the North West Shelf gas project and a failure to set a 1.5C-aligned climate plan would amount to an ‘assault’ on Pacific communities, and a breach of its international obligations.
The Prime Minister’s visit comes as the government prepares to release its 2035 climate plan under the Paris Agreement and is bidding with Pacific nations to co-host the COP31 climate conference. It also follows a landmark Pacific-led climate ruling at the International Court of Justice in July.
The Federal government is expected to announce its decision on Woodside’s controversial North West Shelf gas extension in the coming days — one of Australia’s most polluting fossil fuel projects that would see gas extracted until 2070.
Pacific civil society leaders on the ground in Honaira said Australia has a responsibility to uphold the 1.5C target by setting a science-aligned climate plan that includes a plan to end fossil fuels, and that approving the gas mega project sends a strong signal the Albanese government is not listening.
Rufino Varea, Regional Director at Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, said: “Here in Honiara, Pacific leaders must judge actions, not promises. If Australia truly wants to partner with the Pacific for COP31, it must prove it with a genuine and strong climate plan.
“That plan must align with keeping warming to 1.5°C and stop new fossil fuel expansion. Approving the North West Shelf gas extension will break trust and undermine any claim to be a ‘Pacific’ partner and could very well be considered an internationally wrongful act following the advisory opinion recently handed down by the International Court of Justice. It would show that ‘hosting with the Pacific’ is a slogan rather than a commitment.
“Partnership is concrete. It is real emissions cuts. It is no new fossil projects. It is funding for loss and damage. It is meaningful Pacific leadership in the room where decisions are made. Partnership means protecting Pacific lives and livelihoods, not locking us into deeper harm.
“If Australia fails this test, it will strain Pacific relations and hollow any COP31 partnership before it begins.
“We call on Prime Minister Albanese to choose action today. Show us the plan. Show us the cuts. Show us that partnerships for COP31 would be done in good faith – for our people, our seas and our future.
“We will measure Australia by its deeds at home as much as its words here in Honiara.”
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The decisions made by Prime Minister Albanese over the coming weeks will show Pacific and Australian communities his true colours.
“As the Prime Minister stands here in Honiara with Pacific leaders, we ask him to show up with humility, with ambition, and with the courage to break from the status quo. That means listening to the science, and listening to climate-vulnerable communities — not fossil fuel corporations or self-motivated lobby groups.
“If PM Albanese approves the North West Shelf gas project, it will be an outright assault on the Pacific’s survival, make a mockery of our global commitment to limit warming to 1.5C, and lock in devastation for our islands.
“For the Pacific, 1.5°C is not a target — it is our lifeline. To expand fossil fuels is to cut that lifeline. No bilateral side deal can hide the truth: Australia is choosing coal and gas over Pacific survival. The Pacific demands an end to fossil fuels, not more talk, not more excuses. Anything less is signs away our future.
“Australia is bidding to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific — a ‘truly Pacific COP’. But Australia can not claim to stand with us on the global stage while driving fossil fuel expansion at home. If Prime Minister Albanese wants to lead with integrity, he has a choice to make — fossil fuel profits or the safety of communities in Australia and the Pacific.”
-ENDS-
For more information or interviews contact Kate O’Callaghan on +61 406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org or Dylan Kava on +679 906 1989 or dylan.kava@pican.org
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