No risk to Bowen's loyalty in UN role

Monday 24 November 2025

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer

The Advertiser

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s “loyalty to Australia” will not be eroded by his new UN climate role, a senior cabinet colleague says.  

Mr Bowen was spearheading Australia’s favoured joint bid with the Pacific for COP31 next year, but last week – in a shock announcement – hosting rights for the world’s top climate summit were awarded to Turkey. Turkey’s concessions included giving Mr Bowen the lead on negotiations – handing him the helm to steer COP31’s outcomes.  

On Sunday, Trade Minister Don Farrell brushed off concern that Mr Bowen’s loyalties could be split between Australia and a UN body.  

“I am unequivocal in the view that Chris Bowen’s loyalty to Australia and the people of Australia,” Senator Farrell told Sky News. “So everything that he would do on the international stage would be to contribute to Australia’s contribution to net zero. I’m absolutely certain Chris won’t be doing anything other than things that are in Australia’s national interest.  

“The world, by and large, is committed to the net zero project. Australia is committed to that, the G20 countries just re-committed to that over the weekend,” Senator Farrell said.  

If neither Australia nor Turkey relinquished their bids, hosting rights for COP31 would have defaulted to Bonn – the German city home to the UN body that runs the forum.

A pre-COP event will be held in the Pacific as part of the deal Mr Bowen struck with Ankara.  

Opposition frontbencher James Paterson said Mr Bowen “should do two things ... when he goes over to Turkey”. “He should thank President Erdogan for saving Australian taxpayers $2bn by not having to host COP. ... Secondly, I think you should probably stay there because that’s where his priorities are.”  

Labor says the Coalition’s recent decision to dump net zero could threaten more than $11bn of critical mineral projects.  

Using calculations from Deloitte’s November Investment Monitor report, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said scrapping the policy would slash investment certainty, “put billions of dollars of critical minerals projects at risk,” and “swing a wrecking ball through the energy market”.

“What the Coalition is proposing would decimate investor confidence around Australia and risk billions of dollars of investment,” Dr Chalmers said on eve of parliament reutnring for the final sitting fortnight.  
“The net zero transofrmation is a golden economic opportunity for Australia and our advantages in critical minerals are a really important part of that,” he said.

A key reason for Australia hosting COP was to shore up relations with Australia’s Pacific neighbours amid a years-long Chinese influence campaign creeping across the region.  

Climate change is a threat for low-lying Pacific island nations. Rising sea levels are eroding their coastlines while warming waters and high acidity are hurting fishing stocks.  

Australia and the Pacific will also “set the agenda for and preside over a special Pre-COP for leaders and others in the Pacific in 2026, giving the world an opportunity to see Pacific climate impacts and solutions first-hand".