Prime Minister Scott Morrison is poised to announce Australia will adopt a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But it’s too little, too late.
- Emeritus Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University
There was palpable relief as Biden brought the US back to the table on global climate action, warning “we have to get this done”. Depressingly, Morrison showed little sign of hearing the message.
Australia must treble its emissions reduction targets and reach net-zero emissions by 2035. Without this and other radical global action, the chance to hold warming to well below 2°C will pass us by.
We hear a lot about the Morrison government ‘kicking the can down the road’ on emissions reduction. New research reveals the precise burden that forces onto young Australians.
The unprecedented intensity of two summers of bushfires, first in the east and then in the west, offered harsh lessons for Australians. One is that some settlements must retreat from high-risk areas.
Humanity at risk if we keep thinking everything is under control
Simple maths reveals Labor’s policy, if replicated by all other nations, would not avert dangerous global warming.
For decades Australian scientists have, clearly and respectfully, warned about the risks to Australia of a rapidly heating climate. After this season’s fires, perhaps it’s time to listen.
Our food, finance, and logistics systems are worringly vulnerable to climate shocks – we can’t rule out collapses within a decade.
A new Climate Council report points out that the Paris Agreement’s carbon budget leaves no room for the development of massive new coal reserves such as the proposed Carmichael mine.
Scientific and technological innovations and economic policies promoting growth at all costs have created a consumption and production vortex on a collision course with the Earth system.
Australia is pumping 6.5 times more carbon into the atmosphere than the land can absorb.
The challenges we face demand profound changes in our thinking and priorities. Replacing the Productivity Commission with a National Sustainability Commission would help us make this paradigm shift.
If we’re going to limit global warming to less than 2C, Australia will need to keep more than 90% of its coal reserves in the ground.
“I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside” holds true for many Australians who live on or near the coast. On top of the many lifestyle amenities coastal living offers, much of the country’s crucial infrastructure…
The climate system is in a foul mood. From “angry summer” to “abnormal autumn” – we’re running out of words to describe the relentless extreme weather that Australia is experiencing as global temperatures…
Heatwaves are one of the most important climate-related risks for Australians. Sometimes called the “silent killers”, they cause the greatest number of deaths of any natural disaster type in Australia…
Drought in the Amazon increases the release of carbon into the atmosphere, according to research published today in Nature. The Amazon plays a key role in the Earth’s climate system, thanks to the extent…
With the release of its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has emphatically set the record straight on what the most recent scientific research says about climate…
Extreme weather caused by global warming poses a growing risk to Australia’s crop lands, cities and iconic sites like Kakadu National Park, according to a new report that calls for global emissions to…
The hottest summer on record. The hottest month on record. The hottest day ever recorded for the whole of Australia. Heatwaves, bushfires, record rainfall and floods – extreme events across the land. This…
Ninety countries representing 90% of the global economy are committed to reducing their greenhouse emissions and are taking action to do so. This is one of the take-home messages from the Climate Commission’s…
On the wall along the massive entrance hall to the Rio+20 Sustainable Development conference venue, there was a painting of an African landscape with the simple words “Keep the oil in the soil and the…
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