Australia’s surprise 2035 emission reduction target
Poppy Johnston, Tess Ikonomou and Andrew Brown |
Australia has locked in its contribution to the next decade of global climate action, with a pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 62 to 70 per cent.
The updated commitment is a requirement under the top international climate pact and is viewed as a beacon of national ambition on limiting temperature rise.
In the works for at least a year, and subject to rigorous debate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally unveiled the 2035 target on Thursday ahead of his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“Our government knows that climate change is real and we want to continue to seize the economic opportunity that the energy transition offers our nation,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“This is a responsible target supported by science and a practical plan to get there and built on proven technology.”
The Climate Change Authority had previously suggested a 2035 target range of between 65 and 75 per cent would be achievable.
The prime minister said emissions would need to be reduced the most in transport, industry and electricity sectors.
The government also announced $5 billion net-zero fund would be set up to decarbonise large industries and expand the use of renewables.
An extra $2 billion would be spent to help reduce power prices.
“This will help to accelerate long term renewable projects right across our nation,” Mr Albanese said.
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the climate target would be ambitious and achievable.
“The global shift to clean energy is the biggest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution and it presents Australia with our best ever economic opportunity if we get this right,” he said.
“We can use these advantages to power hundreds of thousands of jobs and new investment to set us up for a bright economic future.”
Under the Paris Agreement signed a decade ago, members must increase their emissions reduction targets every five years and cannot water them down.
Nations that signed up must submit their new targets by the end of September.
The commitment builds on the existing 2030 target to cut emissions by 43 per cent on 2005 levels and serves as another stepping stone on the way to net zero by 2050.
Environment groups, unions and social services organisations were among those calling for an ambitious target.
The business community was more cautious, warning that emission cuts above 70 per cent would risk more than $150 billion in exports and send companies offshore.
The Paris Agreement, which Australia and 195 other parties adopted in 2015, aims to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean said he was hopeful Australia would be able to “overachieve” on the target laid out.
“Our range positions Australia as a global leader on climate emission, in fact we are presenting a higher ambition than most other advanced economies,” he said.
“The Paris Agreement calls on countries to set their highest possible ambition in light of their national circumstances and our bottom-up analysis proves we have done exactly that.”
The federal opposition has also been critical of the financial burden of cutting emissions, with the issue threatening the coalition’s stability as some members lobby aggressively to ditch net zero entirely.
The announcement of the climate target follows the release of the first National Climate Risk Assessment, which laid out a catastrophic vision of Australia’s future if global warming goes unchecked.
AAP
