The Australian government has rejected reports it sought to change a major United Nations report on tackling climate change, calling claims of interference "categorically false".
Documents leaked to Greenpeace and reported by the BBC on Thursday showed comments from countries, including Australia, on the next draft report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
According to the report, the documents revealed Australia is among a group of countries, along with Saudi Arabia, asking the UN to play down the need to move away from fossil fuels.
In one comment, seen by Greenpeace's investigative platform Unearthed, it says a senior Australian government official rejected the conclusion that phasing out coal-fired power stations is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Elsewhere, it says Australia asked the IPCC to delete analysis explaining how lobbying by fossil fuel companies has weakened action on climate change in Australia and the US.
Despite the large number of references the IPCC draws upon in making the statement, Greenpeace says the Australian government official requests "deleting this political viewpoint made to seem factual".
Energy Minister Angus Taylor told SBS News the BBC report "does not accurately reflect the comments provided by the Australian government on the draft IPCC report."
"All governments are invited to comment on draft IPCC reports as a matter of process," he said in a statement.
"All comments received by the IPCC are published with their reports as they are finalised. This ensures complete transparency.
"The assertion that commenting on a draft is somehow "interference" is categorically false."
The claims also come from a leak of tens of thousands of comments made by governments, corporations, academics and others, shared with the BBC, on the draft report of the IPCC's "Working Group III" - an international team of experts assessing remaining options to curb emissions or remove them from the atmosphere.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor (right) said the BBC report does not accurate reflect comments the Australian government provided to the IPCC. Source: AAP
A spokesperson for the IPCC's secretariat in Geneva said the review by governments and experts "is a fundamental part of the IPCC process for preparing reports."
"The IPCC principles are designed to ensure that this review contributes to a comprehensive, balanced and objective assessment in an open and transparent way," Jonathan Lynn said.
But Greenpeace Australia says the leaked documents reveal the extent of the federal government's attempts to "trainwreck" global climate progress.
“These leaked documents reveal the shameful lengths the Morrison government will go to to protect fossil fuel interests and damage global efforts to reduce emissions and safeguard the climate,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter said.
“Scott Morrison has rejected setting a stronger 2030 emissions reduction target for Australia, and now we know his government is pushing back against key recommendations by the world’s leading climate science body on the need to phase out coal over the next decade.”
It comes ahead of the upcoming COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, widely considered to be the most crucial international meeting since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The summit is expected to feature a range of new commitments from governments and businesses to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.
Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan was also critical of the Australian government.
“The Australian government even goes as far as arguing against the need for a coal phaseout while also trying to rewrite history by denying the role of corporate lobbying in blocking climate action," she said.
“As the global spotlight moves to Glasgow, other world leaders should be aware of how far these governments will go to sabotage our chances of keeping 1.5 degrees in sight," she added, referring to COP26.
"The key test for world leaders in Glasgow is whether or not they agree to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, as the science warrants. History will not be kind to them if they fail and we will be watching.”
Additional reporting by Anna Henderson and AAP.
