Email the Minister and help fund a Safe Climate Future for all

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Subject: We’re demanding a safe climate and equal future

Body: Dear Minister Penny Wong,

I am writing to urge the Australian Government to show strong leadership on international climate finance and ending fossil fuel expansion in response to the catastrophic flash floods in Nepal and Tibet and as the President of Negotiations at the COP31 global climate summit this year.

Thousands of people have likely lost their lives in Nepal and Tibet from flash flooding contributed to by hot conditions and glacial melting associated with climate change. Villages have been devastated, with many left without food, clean water, shelter or safety. The recovery will be long and hard. This loss and damage is unprecedented and heartbreaking.

It not just mountainous countries under threat. Our Pacific neighbours and Torres Strait Islander communities are facing rising sea levels and storm surges that could see their homes uninhabitable in just decades.

The United Nations Environment Programme has recently released its ‘Limiting Overshoot’ report, which revealed that the world is on track to exceed the 1.5°C warming limit agreed to by countries at the UN climate talks. This limit is designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic and irreversible damage to the climate.

This climate change overshoot and the disaster in Nepal and Tibet must be an urgent wake-up call for Australia and the world to take rapid action to phase out the causes of climate change — coal, oil and gas — and to provide the funding frontline communities need to prepare for and recover from more extreme climate disasters.

When it comes to providing support to countries in dire need, Australia isn’t lifting its weight. The Australian Government has committed $11 million in support to Nepal so far for this humanitarian crisis. This is most welcome, but is a drop in the ocean of need. Nepal’s leaders are estimating it will cost up to USD$5 billion to recover, that’s AUD$7 billion. Without greater support, the recovery will be inadequate, leaving many people behind and pushing Nepal into greater debt.

Australia is a wealthy country, we can do far more.

Under the United Nations global climate agreements, Australia, like all developed countries, has agreed to provide climate finance to low-income countries who are vulnerable to climate change impacts and who need support to transition to renewable energy. This is in recognition that developed countries are high historical climate polluters who have benefited from the use of coal, oil and gas, and who have financial means to support vulnerable countries.

But so far, Australia hasn’t been providing its fair share in climate finance. Independent analysis suggests we have paid less than 25% of our fair share, lower than our peers such as the UK, Germany and Netherlands.

Australia’s previous pledge for the provision of climate finance to our region expired in 2025, along with the pledges of other developed countries. In 2024, developed countries collectively committed to a new global climate finance goal of $300 billion USD per annum by 2035, but few countries have made pledges beyond 2025.

This year, the Australian Government must announce its new climate finance goal and it must start to meet the scale of the need, so that countries and communities in least developed countries like Nepal are not left with billions in debt and devastation that they can’t recover from when more extreme disasters hit.

We are calling for the Australian Government to set a goal of $11 billion in climate finance from 2025-2030 to provide much needed support to low-income countries like Nepal and in the Pacific.

We have more than enough money to provide our fair share of the climate finance needs of developing countries. Australia provides around $14.5 billion in fossil fuel subsides per year, far greater than the $2.2 billion per year on average we are calling for to support our region.

Australia must use its role as President of Negotiations at the COP31 global climate summit this year to guide and inspire other countries to also make new climate finance pledges to developing countries.

Finally, the Australian government must also stop making climate change worse. It must end the subsidies to the industry, stop all approvals of new coal and gas projects, and start holding big polluting coal, oil and gas corporations to account. Just eight oil and gas corporations made $93 billion in profits amid the recent oil crisis. Further, one in three coal, oil and gas corporations pay no corporate income tax in Australia. We call on the Australian Government to make them pay their fair share through a levy on their climate pollution. This levy could raise $22 billion per year and should go towards fast tracking climate change action at home and in our region.

We look forward to seeing Australia’s leadership on these matters. Thank you for considering these issues.

Yours sincerely,
[Insert Your name]