Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the Australian government to take a firm, proactive stance toward the world’s 25 largest greenhouse-gas emitting nations ahead of the next United Nations climate summit, pressing them to agree a clear, binding roadmap to end the fossil-fuel era.

Kerry argued that only by confronting major producers — not just through diplomacy but through pressure on consumption in leading economies — can the climate crisis be meaningfully addressed.

Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen has been appointed “president of negotiations” for the upcoming COP31 summit, even though the official hosting rights were ceded to Antalya, Türkiye under a compromise agreement between Australia and Türkiye.

In that role, Bowen would lead the formal climate-text negotiations — a position Kerry described as vital to ensure strong global commitments.

Kerry called for a high-level gathering of the top 25 emitting countries, including China, Russia, the United States, India and the European bloc, to collaboratively plan a credible transition to a clean economy.

While he acknowledged the difficulty of persuading entrenched fossil-fuel powers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia — and expressed scepticism about the current US administration’s participation — he nevertheless maintained that some producers may be open to setting a phased pathway away from fossil fuels.

He said the mere act of calling such a meeting would exert pressure: it would isolate those unwilling to commit, exposing them as obstructionists.

“If you’re not part of the process, you’re part of the problem,” he said, arguing that global patience with fossil-fuel delays must end.

Drawing on his past diplomatic experience, including his role in securing language at the 2023 summit (COP28) for a global transition away from fossil fuels — the first time such a commitment appeared in a COP agreement — Kerry said he remained confident that a binding roadmap was feasible.

He described one key interlocutor, the Saudi oil minister, as “direct, honest” and someone capable of real negotiation under pressure, and revealed plans to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia early next year to push his proposals further.

Kerry also criticised the lead-up to the just-concluded COP30 summit in Brazil, saying that Australia failed to conduct sufficient groundwork for a fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap — a shortcoming that undermined the potential for a stronger outcome.

He warned that without concrete proposals on fossil-fuel transition during the run-up to COP31, the credibility of the entire UN climate process risked being damaged, and global climate commitments rendered ineffectual.

To succeed, Kerry said, Australia must arrive at COP31 — effectively as chair of negotiations — with a detailed and realistic proposal, one that balances respect for each country’s situation with the urgency of the climate crisis.

He stressed that climate action must also resonate with ordinary citizens, presenting the transition not as sacrifice but as a path toward economic and social benefit.

He urged governments to frame clean-energy plans as better choices for people’s lives, livelihoods, and long-term security.

With COP31 now less than a year away, Kerry’s call places Australia and its negotiators at the centre of global expectations — challenging major fossil-fuel producers to commit or be publicly exposed, and urging the world’s top emitters to finally draw a line under the era of coal, oil, and gas.

The stage is set for what could be a defining moment in climate diplomacy.”