Eighty Australian faith leaders have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to back a planned phase-out of coal, oil and gas, as communities gathered across Australia in solidarity with Pacific Islanders.
Leaders and members of several faith traditions gathered outside Wesley Uniting Church in Perth on Tuesday morning 6 October 2026 for the national day of Faiths Standing in Solidarity with Pacific Islanders.
The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) coordinated gatherings in Perth, Cairns, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, alongside the launch of an open letter to the Prime Minister.
Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and other faith communities displayed banners at churches and places of worship in response to Pacific church leaders’ calls for stronger international action.
Catholic signatories included Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv, Cairns Bishop Joseph Caddy and Catholic Religious Australia National Executive Director Anne Walker.
Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Charissa Suli and Australian National Imams Council President Imam Shadi Alsuleiman joined the appeal.
The letter urged the Government to support the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks international cooperation to end fossil fuel expansion and manage a fair global transition.
It called for protection for workers and communities, stronger climate finance and action on loss and damage.
The leaders asked Australia to use its role as President of Negotiations for COP31 to put the phase-out of fossil fuels on the international agenda. Pacific leaders were meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu ahead of November’s United Nations climate conference.
“For many Pacific peoples, climate change is already affecting ancestral lands, food and water security, livelihoods, cultural heritage and the possibility of remaining safely on their islands,” the signatories wrote.
The letter called for Pacific peoples to shape decisions about their own futures and for governments to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as knowledge holders, custodians, leaders and decision-making partners.
Uniting Church WA Moderator Rev David Jackson told the Perth gathering about his visit to Fiji earlier this year, where he heard directly from people living with the effects of climate change.
“What struck me most was that Pacific church leaders are not speaking primarily about economics or politics. They are speaking about people,” Rev Jackson said.
He spoke of their concern for families, culture and identity, and their hope that future generations would remain connected to the lands and waters that had shaped them.
Anglican Diocese of Perth Assistant Bishop Hans Christiansen called for an end to new and extended gas and coal projects, continued investment in renewable energy and a gradual, responsible phase-out of fossil fuels.
Rev Frances Hadfield spoke in solidarity with women from Tuvalu who had called on world leaders to listen to local experience and wisdom.
Wendy Wisschoski, from the Baha’i Spiritual Assembly Fremantle, spoke about responsibility towards future generations.
Rev Hollis Wilson acknowledged the Whadjuk Noongar people as the traditional custodians of the land where the Perth gathering took place.
“What unites us is both simple and profound: a love for this Earth and a hope for its future,” Rev Wilson said.
The signatories told Mr Albanese that history would remember Australia’s response to the climate crisis and its Pacific neighbours.
“It will remember whether Australia chose to stand alongside our neighbours when they called upon us,” the signatories wrote.