Essay by Eric Worrall
Could this taxpayer funded climate conference possibly get more embarrassing?
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen turns to unions to fill seats at $20m pre-COP climate summit shunned by world leaders
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has subbed in unionists to help fill seats at his $20 million climate summit after world leaders declined to attend the event.
Oscar Godsell Political Reporter
August 18, 2026 – 5:00AMClimate Change Minister Chris Bowen has turned to an international union federation to help fill the seats at his taxpayer-funded Pre-COP climate summit in Fiji.
The move comes as world leaders shun the climate gathering, which has been billed at a cost of more than $20 million to Australian taxpayers.
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Public Services International revealed it was personally invited by Mr Bowen to attend Pre-COP meetings at their recent sub-regional advisory committee meeting.
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“Public sector workers are holding communities together through climate crises and health emergencies,” PSI said in a statement.
“Their voices must be at the centre of COP31. PSI welcomes the invitation to bring these frontline experiences to the Pre-COP in Fiji.”
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Read more: https://www.news24.com.au/politics/australian-politics/climate-change-minister-chris-bowen-turns-to-unions-to-fill-seats-at-20m-precop-climate-summit-shunned-by-world-leaders/news-story/8c3074c813a01802c0328ccec9ae0778
I only have one question – did Aussie Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen get his idea to invite union members from my parody mockery of his bungled climate conference?
When I first created the parody image of Albanese and Bowen at the top of this article and as my featured image for my previous article on this absurdity of a climate conference, I thought it would be funny to suggest Bowen and Albanese are so desperate to fill seats they mistake the hotel janitor for a climate conference attendee. But this move to invite union members to fill seats which were meant to be filled by heads of state has turned my parody effort into reality.
I wonder how the handful of Pacific Leaders who accepted the invitation feel about being treated the same as their employees when it comes to seating arrangements? Or do the leaders get some kind of top table?
I now understand why the reddit thread Not the Onion was created, in homage to the famous parody website The Onion. Today’s world is so absurd, sometimes it’s difficult to tell parody from real life events.
They need an International Union of Climate Clowns (IUCC).
It already exists, it’s called the UNIPCC
Hard for me to see just how such a conference will advance their cause. Twenty mil would build around 5 windmills onshore and maybe one offshore but then, would either of those options advance their cause?
Those windmills seem really cheap. Are you sure about the pricing?
In Oz, $20M would be the wage costs for 20 people for a year. The permits, tree clearing, roads, bridges, transport, machinery, assembly equipment, cabling, commissioning and supplemental materials are all on top.
And then you add the fees associated with the unions and the safety department.
Res ipsa loquitur.
Mr. Istvan: An excellent use of the phrase! Wasn’t too long ago hollywood stars would fly private jets to attend (B-level of course, A-listers would not go to the preconference) and Greta would sail in; now they gotta pay placesitters to fill seats like some low-rent award banquet. Speaks for itself indeed!
It might speak for itself but it’s my taxes paying for it.
Not happy Jan.
Oh noes! This doesn’t bode well for COP31.
Hey, I know – how about a sitcom based on the antics and hijinks of Chris Bowen and his problems with attempting to throw a big climate party no one wants to attend.
It could be called “Yes, Clime Minister”.
There is a parody climate change homage to Yes Minister 🙂
Many true words are spoken in jest !!
I’m not a member of any international union, but I’ll sit through a few boring seminars as long as I can get a free Fijian vacation. 😁
I’ll join you!
That twenty million could be better spent on education but I guess that’s anti climate scam as it thrives on ignorance not knowledge.
I’m glad we don’t do stuff like this, could you imagine trying to defend this?
For an Australia temperature check, I went to:
https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/countries/australia/average-temperature-by-year. The Thi and Tlo data from 1901 to 2024 are displayed in a table. Here is the temperature data for these two dates:
Year——-Thi——-Tlo——-Tav Temperature are ° C
2024——29.7——15.9——22.8
1901——-28.1——14.5——21.6
Change—+1.1——+1.4—-+1.2
Range Thi: 27.5-30.1
Range Tlo: 13.8-15.9
CO2 Concentration Data
2024: 425 ppmv (0.83 g CO2/cu. m. of air)
1901: 297 ppmv (0.58 g CO2/cu. m. of air)
After 123 years there has been only a slight warming of the air in Australia and it within the range of natural variation. Note how little CO2 there is in the air. This small amount of CO2 in the atmosphere can have no effect on air temperature, weather and climate. There is no need to control or reduce the emission of CO2 from the use of fossil fuels.
The government has a goal of Net Zero by 2050. This is not possible because Australians exhale 27 million kgs of CO2 everyday. To this should be added the CO2 exhaled by 69 million sheep, 30 million cattle and 1 million cattle.
By 2050 we may all be borgs. 😉
TYPO: …1 million cattle. should be … 1 million camels.
Much as I hate to put down our Minister for Climate Change, and Holding Back the Tides, he is usually known as Boofhead Bowen of Bo Bo the Clown in Australia.
But he should be put down !!
I would never take him up in the first place. 😉