While Trump was ranting at the UN General Assembly last week, telling countries they were ‘going to hell’, others were leading the way, with Colombia and Vanuatu announcing the First International Conference for the Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels in 2026.
In 2021 the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that ‘to limit global warming to 1.5°C, no new oil and gas fields or coal mines should be approved for development’ in their Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap.
On 15 September, 2025, the Australian government released the country’s first National Climate Risk Assessment which highlighted that Australians are at risk from more frequent and severe flooding, cyclones, sea level rise, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires as a result of climate change primarily fuelled by fossil fuels.
The 2025 Production Gap Report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Climate Analytics, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) was released on 22 September and is based on plans from 20 major producing countries, including the US, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the UAE, Australia, the UK, Norway, Russia and India.
According to the report the ‘increases in fossil fuel production estimated under the government plans and projections pathways would lead to global production levels in 2030 that are 500 per cent, 31 per cent, and 92 per cent higher for coal, oil, and gas, respectively, than the median 1.5ºC-consistent pathway. These plans and projections also collectively exceed the fossil fuel production implied by countries’ own climate mitigation pledges by 35 per cent in 2030 and 141 per cent in 2050.’
Yet the Australian government’s 2035 net zero climate modelling response was a large range target to cut pollution by 62-70 per cent by 2035, which the Australian Climate Council say, ‘is dangerously inadequate and inconsistent with the science’.
‘Cuts stronger than 70 per cent are not only achievable but hugely beneficial,’ they stated.
‘They mean cleaner, more affordable electricity, healthier homes, cleaner cities and new export industries. To better protect Australians, the government must lock-in policies that ensure we meet, and then beat the 70 per cent target,’ they said.
The Australian Labor Party needs to step up and join the growing movement to take strong action on climate change; they need to stop approving, and close coal, oil, and gas mining.
As Colombia’s Minister in Charge of Environment and Sustainable Development, Irene Vélez Torres, says, it is time to lead the ‘charge in transforming our energy systems and addressing the intertwined crises of climate and justice’. It is time to ‘chart a path that prioritises life, equity, and sustainability over destruction and inequality. This is our moment, our mandate – to build a future beyond fossil fuels and ensure reparative justice for everyone.’
Aslan Shand, editor
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