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Global Citizen NOW: Perth

GLOBAL LEADERS TO CONVENE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA FOR 'GLOBAL CITIZEN NOW: PERTH' AHEAD OF COP31 TO HELP EXPAND CLEAN ENERGY TO 4 MILLION HOMES

Global Citizen

Global Citizen’s Action Summit to Take Place 18–20 October to Strengthen Energy Security Across APAC and the World 

 

Global Citizen NOW: Perth to feature President José Ramos-Horta; Prime Minister Gaston Browne; Hon. Roger Cook; Kevin Rudd; Alex Pearce; Fatih Birol and Amina J. Mohammed

 

Summit marks the culmination of Global Citizen’s year-long effort to expand clean electricity while building cleaner industries powering the world's energy future

 

Perth, Australia, 6 August, 2026 // Global Citizen, the world’s largest movement to end extreme poverty, today announced the first speakers and partners for Global Citizen NOW: Perth, bringing some of the world's most influential leaders in government, business, philanthropy, First Nations communities and civil society to the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in Western Australia from 18–20 October, ahead of COP31, to accelerate action on clean energy, electrification and global development.

 

Global Citizen NOW: Perth will feature world leaders and industry changemakers from across the Australia-Pacific region and the world, including José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Laureate; Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and Commonwealth Chair-in-Office; Hon. Roger Cook, Western Australian Premier, Minister for Defence Industries, Tourism, Trade and Investment; and Alex Pearce, Captain of the Fremantle Dockers. Kevin Rudd, Global President and CEO, Asia Society, 26th Prime Minister of Australia; Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency and Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations will join virtually.

 

The summit will also feature business leaders and participants from across APAC, as well as some of Western Australia’s major trading partners, including Dino Otranto, Chief Executive Officer, Fortescue Metals, Niap Juan Loh, Group Chief Corporate Officer, TPC (Tsao Pao Chee); Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation; Matt Tilleard, Co-Founder and CEO of CrossBoundary Energy; and Kane Xu, Senior Vice President and President of International Product Line at Envision Energy.

 

Nearly 750 million people still live without reliable electricity worldwide. For millions of families, that means children unable to study after sunset, health clinics facing power cuts during critical care, and vaccines and medicines that can't always be kept safely refrigerated. Reliable, affordable electricity powers homes, schools and hospitals. It helps children learn, keeps patients safe, enables businesses to grow, creates jobs, lowers energy costs and helps communities break free from cycles of extreme poverty. When the lights come on, everything changes.

 

Global Citizen NOW: Perth will help accelerate industries powering the world's energy future while pursuing commitments to expand reliable electricity to homes, schools, health clinics and small businesses across the world. With world-leading renewable resources, Western Australia has the potential to become one of the world's most important suppliers of clean energy technologies and industries that underpin the expansion of reliable electricity access around the world. Featuring keynote addresses, policy dialogues, investment roundtables and public-facing events, Global Citizen NOW: Perth will also strengthen momentum behind the shared ambition to lift the global share of energy demand met by electricity to 35 percent by 2035.

 

Building on engagements across New York, London, Cape Town, Singapore and the United Nations General Assembly, Global Citizen NOW: Perth will seek commitments to:

  • Expand reliable and affordable electricity access to up to 4 million homes across the world;

  • Deliver at least 2.5 gigawatts of additional renewable energy capacity;

  • Accelerate green industrial projects, including green iron, battery supply chains and other industries needed to build tomorrow's energy system;

  • Protect nature while creating new jobs and economic opportunity;

  • Expand access to health, education and economic opportunity across the Indo-Pacific;

  • Spotlight Australian recipients of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. 

“Reliable electricity changes lives. It means a child can study after sunset. A vaccine fridge keeps working. A health clinic can safely deliver babies. A small business can stay open. Right now, almost 750 million people are living without reliable electricity, trapping communities in extreme poverty. Ahead of COP31, Global Citizen NOW: Perth will bring together leaders from across the Indo-Pacific and the world to help change that,” said Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer, Global Citizen. “It’s incredibly special to be back in Perth, where Global Citizen’s journey began 15 years ago. With world-class renewable resources, Western Australia has an extraordinary opportunity to create good jobs while helping expand access to reliable electricity that powers schools, hospitals, businesses and communities across the Indo-Pacific.”

Additional leaders from across government, business, philanthropy, First Nations communities, culture and civil society confirmed to participate in Global Citizen NOW: Perth include Professor Peta Ashworth OAM, Director of the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition; Dr. Enos Banda, CEO, ENERTRAG South Africa; Sharan Burrow AC, Chair, The Climateworks Centre; Dino Patti Djalal, Founder, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and former Ambassador of Indonesia to the United States; Sabrina Dhowre Elba, advocate, CEO and Global Citizen Europe Board Chair; Ramesh Ferris, Canadian Polio Survivor and Global End Polio Advocate; Kal Glanznig, Co-Founder, Blue Minds, Local Councillor and Director of ‘The Plastic Country’; Sônia Guajajara, former Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil and Federal Congresswoman; Bill Hare, CEO Climate Analytics; Sally Higgins, COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion; Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, and Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, The Australian National University; Matt Kean, Chair, Climate Change Authority, Australia; Stefan Löfven, former Prime Minister of Sweden  and Global Citizen Board Member; Samuel McSkimming, Pilbara Ports Chief Executive Officer; Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,  former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women; Boipelo Moloabi, Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer and Co-Founder, Pele Energy Group; Greg Mullins, Climate Councillor, Founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, former Commissioner, Fire and Rescue NSW; Ziggy Ramo, an Award-winning Wik and Solomon Islander Artist; Amber-Jade Sanderson, Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation, Manufacturing, Skills and TAFE, Pilbara, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Industries; Dr Wes Sechrest, CEO and Board Chair, Re:wild; Lord Alok Sharma, KCMG PC Member of UK House of Lords, former UK Business and Energy Secretary and COP26 President; Maina Talia, Minister of Climate Change and Environment of Tuvalu; Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati; Sebastian Troëng, CEO, Conservation International; Michael Wear, CEO and Founder, Tidal Moon and Professor of Practice, Murdoch University; Ken Wyatt, Adjunct Professor of Practice UWA Public Policy Institute and former Federal Indigenous Australian Minister; and Professor Zhang Xiliang, Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University and President of China Carbon Emissions Trading Association, with additional speakers to be announced.

 

Global Citizen NOW is supported by presenting partner Western Australian Government, major partners Boundless Earth and Minderoo Foundation, and supporting partners Business Events Perth, City of Perth, CrossBoundary Energy, Curtin University, Forrest Research Foundation, Fortescue, Murdoch University, and The University of Western Australia.

 

The summit will also serve as the culminating moment of Global Citizen's year-long global clean energy campaign, bringing together the movement's international coalition of partners, including Octopus Energy Generation, Pele Energy Group, Enertrag and UBS Optimus Foundation.

 

Global Citizen NOW: Perth will bring together a coalition of civil society organisations committed to advancing equitable access to clean energy, climate resilience and sustainable development, including Australian Electric Vehicle Association, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Beyond Zero Emissions, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Climate Action for Associations, Climate and Health Alliance, Climate for Change, Climate KIC Australia, Climateworks Centre, Commonland, Conservation Council of Western Australia, Divers for Climate, Doctors for the Environment Australia, Electrify WA, Energy Efficiency Council, Environs Kimberley, Farmers for Climate, Fremantle Foundation, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Perth NRM, Plastic Free Foundation, Smart Energy Council, Surfers for Climate, Sustainable Energy Now, Talking Foreign Affairs with Adil Cader,  Teachers for Climate, The Superpower Institute, UnionsWA, WA+, WA Climate Leaders, WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS) and WA Return Recycle Renew (WARRRL).

 

Established in Australia in 2008, Global Citizen is the world's largest movement to end extreme poverty. Known globally for bringing together policy, culture and citizen action, Global Citizen NOW has convened influential leaders across government, business, philanthropy, advocacy and entertainment since 2022 to tackle the world's most pressing challenges, from energy and global health to education and food security. Perth joins Global Citizen NOW's global circuit of host cities including New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Sevilla and Johannesburg, reinforcing Perth's, and Australia's, growing role on the international stage.

 

The summit marks Global Citizen's return to Perth for the first time in 15 years, following the organisation's landmark End of Polio concert in 2011 - the first major Global Citizen event ever held. The return is especially significant as 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the first polio vaccine.

 

Additional speakers, partners and programming will be announced in the coming months.

 

For more information, click here. 

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About Global Citizen 

Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement to end extreme poverty. Powered by a worldwide community of everyday advocates raising their voices and taking action, the movement is amplified by campaigns and events that convene leaders in music, entertainment, public policy, media, philanthropy and the private sector. Since the movement began, more than USD $50 billion in commitments announced on Global Citizen platforms has been deployed, impacting 1.3 billion lives. Established in Australia in 2008, Global Citizen operates in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, the UAE, and across Asia. Join the movement at globalcitizen.org, download the Global Citizen app, and follow Global Citizen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. 


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