Earlier in the day, the environmental group released a report, titled "Australia: Pacific Bully and International Outcast", that recaps the results of a new investigation by Greenpeace Australia Pacific. The probe is based on interviews with present and former Pacific leaders, Australian diplomats, and academics.
"The Australian government uses bullying tactics in regional negotiations on climate change, according to former Pacific Island leaders interviewed by Greenpeace Australia Pacific, including former Kiribati President Anote Tong and Bikenibeu Paeniu, Former Prime Minister of Tuvalu", the group said in a statement.
The probe has revealed "the hardline tactics used by Australia to thwart stronger regional action on climate change and to shift focus away from Australia’s responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions", the statement read.
Additionally, Australia's aid to regional efforts to address the matter has been "greenwashed", as some of the country's largest and most expensive projects funded by the government turned out to have no link to climate change or increasing the climate resilience of the Pacific Region.
Greenpeace noted that Canberra's climate position "harms its international relations and economy with Australia’s export markets for coal and gas shrinking as major trading partners such as Japan and South Korea commit to net-zero emissions".