Morrison stated on radio: "Nor are we bound to go and tip money into that big climate fund; we're not going to do that either." [1] Australia made its final payment to the fund in December 2018 [2].
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had decided that Australia would contribute A$200 million to the GCF, and Australia maintained this funding from 2015 until 2018 [3].
When Morrison became Prime Minister in August 2018, the policy shifted dramatically toward bilateral climate finance rather than multilateral funding through the GCF [4].
However, the claim requires important clarification about what "ceased" means and why this was done:
1. **Australia's Justification:** The Morrison government stated it would redirect climate finance through bilateral partnerships rather than the multilateral GCF, citing governance challenges with the Fund [5].
Australia maintained an overall commitment to provide A$1 billion in climate finance over five years to 2020, but chose to deliver this through direct bilateral aid programs instead, particularly to Pacific island nations [6].
Australia allocated A$300 million specifically for Pacific climate resilience [7].
2. **The Abbott Government's Role:** The claim doesn't clarify that it was Abbott/Bishop who initially committed the A$200 million to the GCF (2015-2018), not Morrison.
Abbott, despite being a climate skeptic who called the GCF "a Bob Brown bank on an international scale," had authorized the commitment through Julie Bishop [9].
3. **International Standing:** By ceasing GCF payments, Australia became the only developed nation (aside from the Trump administration in the US) to refuse to channel climate finance through the multilateral Green Climate Fund, making this a distinctive policy position [10].
4. **Later Reversal:** This was not a permanent position.
In October 2023, the Albanese Labor government announced Australia would rejoin the GCF with a A$50 million contribution to the 2024-2027 replenishment, responding to requests from Pacific partner nations [11].
While The Hill reported this factually, the claim itself is straightforward and has been widely confirmed by multiple authoritative sources including Climate Change News, Al Jazeera, the Lowy Institute, and Australian government statements [1][4][10].
**Did Labor do something similar?**
Australia's Labor governments under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard (2007-2013) focused on establishing strong domestic climate policy through the failed Emissions Trading Scheme (Rudd, 2007-2010) and the Carbon Pricing Mechanism/Carbon Tax (Gillard, 2012-2013) [12].
* * * *
However, the search results do not contain specific evidence that Rudd or Gillard made substantial contributions to international multilateral climate funds.
The Labor government under Anthony Albanese (2022-present) has taken the opposite position from the Coalition by **rejoining** the Green Climate Fund in 2023, demonstrating a clear policy reversal and commitment to multilateral climate finance mechanisms [11].
The Morrison government's decision requires understanding both the criticisms and the stated rationale:
**The Criticism:** Environmental advocates and international observers criticized the withdrawal as undermining Australia's climate credibility and commitment to multilateral climate cooperation [4][10].
This was particularly damaging given Australia's vulnerability to climate change impacts and its geographic position in the Pacific where island nations face existential climate threats.
**The Government's Rationale:** The Coalition argued that:
- The GCF had governance challenges that made direct bilateral funding more effective [5]
- Australia would maintain its overall climate finance commitment through targeted bilateral programs [6]
- Pacific island nations would benefit more from direct Australian support than through multilateral mechanisms [7]
**Expert Assessment:** The Lowy Institute, a respected Australian think tank, examined this issue and noted that Australia's withdrawal had real consequences—the loss of the region's main donor advocate on the GCF board coincided with declining Pacific nation access to the Fund [13].
This suggests the Coalition's bilateral approach may not have fully replaced the advocacy function of multilateral participation.
**Comparison to Labor:** While Labor under Rudd and Gillard focused on domestic climate action rather than international climate finance mechanisms, the Albanese Labor government has prioritized rejoining multilateral climate finance structures, signaling a fundamentally different approach to international climate cooperation [11].
However, this was an active policy reversal—not merely the end of a standing commitment—as Australia had been contributing A$200 million to the GCF from 2015-2018 under the Abbott government [3].
The claim is factually accurate but benefits from context explaining that Australia justified this through redirecting funds to bilateral climate finance and that the policy was later reversed by the Labor government in 2023.
However, this was an active policy reversal—not merely the end of a standing commitment—as Australia had been contributing A$200 million to the GCF from 2015-2018 under the Abbott government [3].
The claim is factually accurate but benefits from context explaining that Australia justified this through redirecting funds to bilateral climate finance and that the policy was later reversed by the Labor government in 2023.