Australia will head into the world's most important climate talks with everything to prove.
In 2022, the Australian delegation received a round of applause at COP27 for being "on the frontline of the fight against climate change" after Labor was elected on a clean economy platform.
But expectations of the Australian government have since changed, experts say.
"Australia has had plenty of time to find its feet," Greenpeace Australia's head of advocacy Susie Byers told AAP.
"It has now reached the point where it must lift its ambitions and exercise more international leadership and responsibility."
Nations will convene in Dubai on Thursday with the full knowledge efforts to limit climate change are proving woeful.
The latest UN report on emissions warns the world is hurtling towards 2.5 to 2.9C of warming - far beyond the Paris climate pact's goal of 1.5 to 2C, which is mean to shield humanity from the worst consequences of climate change.
Australia is expected to cite the progress it has made towards its own goal of a 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030.
The nation hopes to co-host the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference but is likely to face scrutiny given it continues to approve fossil fuel projects and contribute to emissions beyond its borders.
Australia is the world's second-largest exporter of both coal and liquefied natural gas, and the third-largest fossil fuel exporter overall, sending almost three times as much as COP28's petrostate host, the United Arab Emirates.
Though the government's standing has improved, Climate Council researcher Simon Bradshaw says the world still sees Australia as a major fossil fuel producer.
"The science is unequivocal," he told AAP.
"We need to be leaving coal, oil and gas in the ground.
"Every new fossil fuel developments just further endangers all of us."'
Since 2000, Australia has approved more than 740 fossil fuel projects and another two dozen are funnelling through the approvals pipeline.
Those new projects could release up to 22 billion tonnes of emissions into the atmosphere, which Dr Byers says would "dwarf" any progress made on domestic reduction policy.
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and assistant minister Jenny McAllister will argue Australia is worthy of hosting COP31 with Pacific nations in 2026.
The government has sought to address climate impacts on the region, announcing Tuvalu residents facing displacement from climate change would be able to resettle in Australia.
Mr Bowen also revealed the government would contribute to small-scale climate and disaster resilient projects in the Pacific and support loss and damage funding to help nations vulnerable to climate consequences.
Former Pacific leaders and elders have called on their countries to withhold support for the bid until the Australian government stops approving fossil fuel projects.
Dr Bradshaw says the message from Tuvalu and other Pacific nations is that the world must support their citizens' rights to remain in their homes and deal with the root causes of climate change.
"Of course, then we need to be thinking about how we can help provide avenues for people who are forced or choose to move in the face of climate change," he said.
"The most important thing we must do is everything possible to reduce the risks of people being displaced due to climate change."
