With a leading role in this year’s United Nations climate conference, the Australian government has an opportunity to show genuine solidarity with its Pacific neighbours and climate-vulnerable communities at home.
On this episode of Follow the Money, Kumi Naidoo, South African human rights and climate advocate, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the need for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, why it’s past time for the Australia government to stop coal and gas expansion, and his new Vantage Point essay, What We Owe the Water.
This episode was recorded on Monday 9 February 2026.
What we owe the water: It’s time for a fossil fuel treaty by Kumi Naidoo, is available now for just $19.95. Use the code ‘PODVP’ at checkout to get free shipping.
You can also subscribe to the Vantage Point series to get four essays a year on some of the most pressing issues facing Australia and the world.
Guest: Kumi Naidoo, President, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative // @kuminaidoo
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett
Show notes:
“A drowning memory”: the Pacific Island communities fighting for their survival, Follow the Money, the Australia Institute (March 2025)
Foreign aid and climate finance, Australia’s dismal track record by Matt Saunders and Richard Denniss, the Australia Institute (November 2025)
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
To the casual observer, the long overdue reform to our federal environment laws – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) – looked like a win for nature and climate.
Last year’s changes to the EPBC Act won’t do nearly enough to address the damage fossil fuels are doing to our environment.
The Albanese Government is being accused of prioritising Japanese gas industry profits over Australian households and climate goals, with a new report lifting the curtain on corporate Japan’s influence over Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) policy.
