Australia’s now-failed COP31 bid would have cost $7.5m, environment department officials tell Senate Committee

Australians will foot a $7.5 million bill for COP31 despite failing in a bid to host the UN climate conference, environment department officials have revealed. Last month, negotiations over the 2030 event came to a conclusion after Australia ceded its hosting bid to Turkiye. However, departmental staff had already started preparing for the event, in the situation that prospective host city Adelaide was chosen by the UN committee. “As reported on Austender, we have a figure of $7.5 million that has been committed to a range of procurements, including consultancy engagements, labour hire contracts, professional services and legal services,” a department official said. That figure was committed, as opposed to spent to date, under a range of contracts, he said. Given Australia was no longer hosting the conference, those contracts would be concluded as “soon as (the department) was able to do that”, the official said. “We’ll of course, be trying to leverage value out of those contracts,” he said. “And if there’s any work that was done that helps position us to deliver our responsibilities under the new COP31 modalities, we’ll absolutely do that. “But by and large, you would expect most of those contracts to close as soon as we’re able to under the terms of that contract.” $2.4m overseas travel bill for climate officials More than a million dollars was spent on international business class flights for environment department staff in just three months, a Senate estimates hearing has heard. Officials said $2.4m had been spent on overseas travel, with $1.2m in airfares, $1.1m on accommodation and $100,000 on miscellaneous costs including on the ground transport, and meals, according to the department. Deputy secretary Amanda Lee confirmed “one element” of the international bill included international climate conference COP30 in Brazil, however a range of other trips were also part of the bill. “Our officials travelled to a range of places for a range of international forums,” Ms Lee said. “So some of the key forums that were attended during that time was a Australia-Japan workshop in Antarctic Science, a committee for the conservation of Antarctic and marine living resources, a World Heritage Committee meeting, attendance at the United Nations General Assembly and climate week in September.” In the same three-month period, the department footed a bill of $4.4m in total for domestic travel, Ms Lee said. Of this, $1.7m were incurred in airfares, $1.5m for accommodation and $1.2m in other costs. The total travel cost, including both overseas and domestic, amounted to $6.8m. Coalition COP ‘obsessed’: Ayres Environment Minister Tim Ayres has lambasted the Coalition for its “obsession” with COP31, after his department was grilled on the climate conference by a Liberal senator. Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen’s appointment as lead negotiator of COP31 has drawn criticism, particularly from the Coalition. Sussan Ley has accused him of turning into a “part-time” minister, a claim Mr Bowen has denied. Fronting the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee on Monday, department officials were grilled on matters relating to the conference by Liberal senator Sarah Henderson. Department secretary Mike Kaiser was asked how many departmental staff attended this year’s conference, which he was unable to answer, saying it was not in the remit of corporate matters. Officials with the relevant information would be present at 9.30am, about half an hour later, in accordance with the day’s agenda, he said. Environment Minister Tim Ayres jumped in to clarify Mr Kaiser’s comments, saying: “What the secretary has done is indicate to you which bits of your questions he can deal with now and which questions he can deal with in a few minutes time.” Senator Henderson repeatedly asked the same question, before Senator Ayres tried to chime in, leading the Liberal to gibe: “Minister, I don’t need your assistance”. “Hang on a sec. I’m entitled to, obliged to respond when it’s my job to respond,” Mr Ayres said. “I don’t need a snarky aside about whether or not you need my assistance.” He later added: “It may be, Senator, that Mr Kaiser and his team have information that is consistent with what you’ve asked for. And (if) it’s available now, no doubt, if that’s the case, they’ll provide that when they’re able to. “It may be that the conference that you and some of your colleagues, not all of them, are so singularly obsessed with is still being reconciled. “So those figures may not be available. “It’s not possible to go and collect all of the sort of receipt stubs.” He was then interrupted by Senator Henderson, prompting him to say: ”Don’t interrupt me, Senator, I’m answering your question. “Do not interrupt like you’ve done already. “I’ve been in here for 21 minutes, you’ve talked over the top of the secretary.” Both politicians rampantly talked over each other before an intervention from Senate Chair Varun Ghosh, who demanded Senator Ayres be given a chance to respond to Sarah Henderson’s characterisations of the department. “If the information that you seek is available in a format in which it can actually be provided, and that is available to the Secretary and his team … then, of course, they will need to take it on notice,” Senator Ayres said. ”There will be more additional estimates at the very beginning of next year, and so there is no ducking and weaving. “It is not necessary to characterise the evidence of officials that way. “This information will all be provided in the normal sequence of events.”