A report just released by a major environmental lobby group suggests if carbon emissions don’t fall drastically, Australia will use up more than its fair share of the world’s carbon emissions allocation by the end of this decade.
According to the WWF commissioned report, Australia has already used about two-thirds of its so-called “carbon budget”.
Not sure what a “carbon budget” is well scientists say if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change, there’s a limited amount of carbon dioxide that can be released into the atmosphere.
The world’s “carbon budget” to the year 2100 is 1800 billion tonnes
However as governments prepare to meet in the Polish capital, Warsaw, for the next round of United Nations sponsored international climate talks, WWF is urging Australia’s new conservative Liberal-National government to commit to cutting emissions faster.
At the same time the European Union has revealed it has almost already achieved its much more ambitious 20 per cent emissions reduction target set for 2020.
WWF-Australia says its new report shows Australia needs to significantly ramp up carbon pollution reduction targets.
The findings come as the Climate Change Authority, which the Liberal-National government wants to scrap, is due to release a critical report and independent recommendation on Australia’s carbon pollution targets before the end of October.
WWF says the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) science report warned that the global greenhouse gas emissions must be contained within a finite carbon budget.
That is if the world is to retain a reasonable chance of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius.
More than half of this global carbon budget has already been used up.
WWF commissioned the Netherlands-based carbon consultancy Ecofys to analyse Australia’s position.
The key findings, which have been submitted to the Climate Change Authority, are:
• Australia’s fair share of the world’s carbon budget is estimated to be no more than 18 billion tonnes and Australia has already used up between 66 per cent and 84 per cent of that budget.
• If annual emissions remain at the current level, Australia’s entire budget would be used up in a little over a decade, if not sooner.
• For Australia to do its fair share our pollution reduction targets need to be:
o 27 – 34 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020
o 82 – 101 per cent below 2000 levels by 2030
o 98 – 106 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050
Australia has made an unconditional commitment to reduce pollution by at least five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 and to increase that target to as much as 25 per cent if other countries take similar action.
“We’ve nearly blown our carbon budget already and time is running out. If we’re serious about keeping global warming below 2°C then we should immediately move to at least a 25 per cent target,” WWF-Australia National Manager Climate Change, Kellie Caught said.
“A 25 per cent pollution reduction target for 2020 is the bare minimum to put Australia back on track to meet our long-term carbon budget.”
“The good news is that other countries are taking stronger action.
“Unless Australia strengthens its target we risk falling out of step with key trading partners, such as China and the United States,” Ms Caught said.
“The only credible way to meet stronger targets is if we have a stable, long-term policy framework in place, including a price and limit on pollution.”
“Just as we need a stable plan for our economic bottom line, we also need a stable long-term approach to our carbon budget.”
“WWF is urging the government to consult with key stakeholders to identify an environmentally effective, economically efficient and stable policy framework that is supported by parliament, before repealing Australia’s current climate laws,” Ms Caught added.
The Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has responded to the report, saying the Liberal-National government is committed to reducing Australia’s domestic emissions by five per cent by 2020.
He added that target would not have been achieved under the previous Labor government’s carbon price, which his government is seeking to abolish.
2 Responses