Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533 million tonnes -equivalent based on
greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita e emissions of 21 tons, three times the global average. Coal was responsible for 30% of emissions. The national Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates for the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes, which is 27.8 million tonnes, or 5.3%, lower than the previous year. It is 20.8% lower than in 2005 (the baseline year for the Paris Agreement). According to the government, the result reflects the decrease in transport emissions due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
restrictions, reduced fugitive emissions, and reductions in emissions from electricity; however, there were increased
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
from the land and agriculture sectors.
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
uses principally coal power for electricity, accounting for 66% of grid-connected electricity generation in 2020,
but this is rapidly decreasing with a growing share of renewables making up the energy supply mix, and most existing
coal-fired power station scheduled to cease operation between 2022 and 2048. Emissions by the country have started to fall and are expected to continue to fall in coming years as more renewable projects come online.
Climate Action Tracker rates Australia's overall commitment to emissions reduction as "highly insufficient". Policies and action as well as the domestic target are both "insufficient", fair share target is "highly insufficient", and climate finance is "critically insufficient". This is because the Australian government has continued to invest in natural gas projects, refused to increase its 2030 domestic emissions target, and is not on track to meet its current target.
Climate change in Australia
Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since th ...
is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, and the country is generally becoming hotter, and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods and longer fire seasons because of climate change. People in Australia have protested the nation's role in causing climate change through civil disobedience like
Blockade Australia, resulting in jail sentences.
Contribution
Total contributions
The Australian government calculates that Australia's net emissions (including
Land use, land-use change, and forestry
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), also referred to as Forestry and other land use (FOLU), is defined by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat as a "greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of gree ...
) for the 12-month period to September 2020 were 510.10 million tonnes -equivalent. The sectoral contributions based on the
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fifth in a series of such reports and was completed in 2014.IPCC (2014The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) leaflet/ref> As h ...
metrics were as follows:electricity 170.36Mt, 33.4%; stationary energy (excluding electricity) 101.83Mt, 20.%; transport 89.83Mt, 17.6%; agriculture 72.04Mt, 14.1%; fugitive emissions 51.23Mt, 10.0%; industrial processes 30.29Mt, 5.9%; waste 13.28Mt, 2.6%, and LULUCF -18.76Mt, -3.7% (due to carbon sequestration).
In 2017, the electricity sector emissions totaled 190 million tons, of which 20 million tons was for primary industry, 49 million tons for manufacturing (which might include aluminum smelting), 51 million tons Commercial, Construction and Transport, and 33 million tons Residential.
Cumulative historical contribution
The
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, fore ...
estimates that Australia was responsible for 1.1% of all CO
2 emissions between 1850 and 2002. Consolidated historical data measures Australia's total fossil fuels and cement production emissions (excluding
LULUCF
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), also referred to as Forestry and other land use (FOLU), is defined by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat as a "greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of gre ...
) at 18.18 billion tons out of the world's 1.65 trillion tons, or 1.10%. However noting that Australia has significant negative emissions from
LULUCF
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), also referred to as Forestry and other land use (FOLU), is defined by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat as a "greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of gre ...
relative to other countries, it is likely the net cumulative contribution proportion of Australia is much lower.
Projected contribution
According to the no-mitigation scenario in the
Garnaut Climate Change Review, Australia's share of world emissions, at 1.5% in 2005, declines to 1.1% by 2030, and to 1% by 2100.
Responsibility
![Greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-gas (3)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-gas_%283%29.png)
According to the
polluter pays principle
In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. It is regarded as a regional custom because of the strong supp ...
, the polluter has ecological and financial responsibility for the climate change consequences. The climate change is caused cumulatively and today's emissions will have effect for decades forward.
![Co-emissions-per-capita](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Co-emissions-per-capita.png)
The emissions per capita was 15.22-15.37 tonnes in 2020, which made Australia the 11th largest
emissions per capita just ahead of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.(Citation 15 does not match new data)
Emission sources
Some of the reasons for Australia's high levels of emissions include:
* In 2020, 73.5% of electricity was generated from fossil fuels (66% of electricity was generated from coal, and 7.5% from gas).
* A warm climate results in high use of
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
.
* Agriculture, such as methane from sheep and cow belches.
* High levels of automobile and aeroplane use among the population.
* Continued deforestation.
Production and export of carbon products
Australian emissions are monitored on a
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
rather than a
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
basis. This means that the emissions from the manufacture of goods imported into and consumed within Australia, for example many motor vehicles, are allocated to the country of manufacture. Similarly, Australia produces
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
for export, which emits carbon dioxide during refining. While the aluminium is mainly consumed overseas, the emissions of its production are allocated to Australia.
Coal
In 2018 Australia was the world's 2nd largest exporter of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
. Australia is the world's largest exporter of
metallurgical coal
Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled ...
accounting for 55% of the world's supply in 2019.
LNG
Australia became the world's largest exporter of
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
in 2020.
Mitigation (technology aspects)
Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. This is in distinction to
adaptation to global warming
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
, which involves taking action to minimize the effects of global warming.
Scientific consensus on global warming, together with the precautionary principle and the fear of non-linear climate transitions, is leading to increased effort to develop new technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming.
In order to make a significant change,
coal from Australia needs to be replaced with alternatives.
Carbon capture and storage in Australia Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that can capture carbon dioxide emissions produced from fossil fuels in electricity, industrial processes which prevents from entering the atmosphere. Carbon capture and storage is also used to sequ ...
has been put forward as a solution for production of clean hydrogen from natural gas. Following the introduction of government
mandatory renewable energy targets, more opportunities have opened up for
renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
technologies such as
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
,
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
, and
solar thermal
Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.
Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United Sta ...
technologies. Accelerating deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases.
A
carbon price
Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the co ...
was introduced in 2012 by the government of
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
with the purpose of reducing
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's carbon emissions. It required large businesses (defined as those with annual
carbon dioxide equivalent
Global warming potential (GWP) is the heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide (). GWP is 1 for . For other gases it depends on the gas and the time ...
emissions over 25,000
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s annually) to pay a price for emissions permits. The tax was scrapped by the
Abbott government in 2014 in what was a widely criticized and highly publicized move.
Coal
![CSIRO ScienceImage 174 A Coal Dredge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/CSIRO_ScienceImage_174_A_Coal_Dredge.jpg)
Coal is the most polluting of all
fossil fuels
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...
, and the single greatest threat to the climate.
Every stage of coal use brings substantial environmental damage.
Phasing out
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
energy is one of the most important elements to
climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
.
Today coal supplies over one third of the Australia's energy.
Brown coal
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
is by far the most polluting, and is currently used in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. In order to have significant effects on greenhouse gas emissions, there needs to be a replacement of coal with alternatives.
Reduction in the mining, use and export of coal is favored by environmental groups such as
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
. Almost all of the coal emissions were emitted by
coal fired power stations
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They ...
. Coal was responsible for 30% (164 million tonnes) of Australia's
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
, not counting methane and export coal, based on 2019 GHG inventory.
Two forms of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
are mined in Australia, depending on the region: high quality black coal and lower quality
brown coal
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
. Black coal is mainly found in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, and is used for both domestic power generation and for export overseas. It is normally mined underground before being transported to power stations, or export shipping terminals. Brown coal is mainly found in Victoria and
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, and is of lower quality due a higher ash and water content. Today there are three open cut brown coal mines in Victoria used for
baseload power generation.
Carbon capture and storage
The
Rudd-Gillard Government stated support for research into
carbon capture and storage CCS as a possible solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions. CCS is an integrated process, made up of three distinct parts: carbon capture, transport, and storage (including measurement, monitoring and verification).
Capture technology aims to produce a concentrated stream of that can be compressed, transported, and stored. Transport of captured to storage locations is most likely to be via pipeline. Storage of the captured carbon is the final part of the process. The vast majority of storage is expected to occur in geological sites on land, or below the seabed.
However, according to the
Greenpeace False Hope Report, CCS cannot deliver in time to avoid a dangerous increase in world temperatures.
The Report also states that CCS wastes energy, and uses between 10 and 40% of the energy produced by a power station. It also asserts that CCS is expensive, potentially doubling plant costs, and is very risky, as permanent storage cannot be guaranteed.
Nuclear energy
Australia has approximately 40% of the world's
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
deposits, and is the world's third largest producer of uranium.
Life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions from
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
are low.
The
only nuclear reactor in Australia is currently operated by
ANSTO
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outs ...
in the Sydney suburb of
Lucas Heights
Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is near to the Royal National Park.
Geography
It is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government ...
. The main argument against building more is that the
cost of electricity
Electricity pricing (also referred to as electricity tariffs or the price of electricity) can vary widely by country or by locality within a country. Electricity prices are dependent on many factors, such as the price of power generation, gover ...
from new nuclear is more expensive than new solar power. Other perceived problems include that
enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 ...
can also be used as a nuclear weapon, prompting security issues such as
nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
. Also
nuclear waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...
requires extensive waste management because it can remain radioactive for centuries.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
technologies currently contribute about 6.2% of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's total energy supply and 21.3% of Australia's electricity supply, with
hydro-electricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
the largest single contributor and wind power a close second. Initiatives are also being taken with
ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the ...
and
geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...
exploration.
Renewable energy targets
![Australia DNI mid-size-map 156x171mm-300dpi v20191205](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Australia_DNI_mid-size-map_156x171mm-300dpi_v20191205.png)
Moving towards long-term mitigation policies is a requirement of government, and the Australian energy sectors remains a central area in national emissions. The
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the entire global energy sector, with a recent focus on curbing carb ...
(IEA) reviewed the Australian energy sectors policies in 2018, the findings identified needed improvements to the country's emissions reduction targets, and further the energy sectors resilience. The IEA identified needed improvements in government leadership by establishing a well-defined long-term integrated energy policy and climate toolkit for policy development and deployment.
The Australian Government has announced a
mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) to ensure that renewable energy obtains a 20% share of electricity supply in Australia by 2020. To ensure this, the government has committed that the MRET will increase from 9,500 gigawatt-hours to 45,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020. After 2020 the proposed ETS and improved efficiencies from innovation and in manufacture are expected to allow the MRET to be phased out by 2030.
Following the introduction of government Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets,
more opportunities have opened up for renewable energies such as
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
,
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
, and
solar thermal
Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.
Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United Sta ...
technologies. The deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating
greenhouse gases
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...
.
Solar power
By 2020 installed
solar power by country
Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources.
Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
* Photovoltai ...
was more in each of Italy, Japan and Germany than Australia despite their lower potentials.
Wind power
Wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...
s are highly compatible with agricultural and pastoral land use.
Bioenergy
Bioenergy
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biom ...
is energy produced from
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
. Biomass is material produced by photosynthesis, or is an organic by-product from a waste stream. Thus it can be seen as stored solar energy.
In terms of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
, biomass offers four different types of contribution:
* liquid and gaseous biofuels can substitute for oil in transportation;
* biomass can be used in place of many greenhouse intensive materials;
* biomass can be converted to
biochar
Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and Ash (analytical chemistry),
ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the th ...
, an organic char coal that greatly enhances the ability of soil to
sequester carbon.
Sustainable energy expert
Mark Diesendorf
Mark Diesendorf is an Australian academic and environmentalist, known for his work in sustainable development and renewable energy. He currently teaches environmental studies at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia. He wa ...
suggests that bioenergy could produce 39% of Australia's electricity generation.
Solar heat and electricity
Solar heat and electricity together have the potential for supplying all of Australia's energy, whilst using less than 0.1% of land. With suitable government policies, particularly at the state and local levels,
solar hot water
Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector
A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, bu ...
could cost-effectively provide the vast majority of hot water systems in Australia, and make considerable reductions in residential electricity consumption.
Solar electricity's potential scale of application is huge and its prospects for further substantial cost reductions are excellent.
Energy efficiency
The most important energy saving options include improved
thermal insulation
Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with s ...
and building design, super efficient electrical machines and drives, and a reduction in energy consumption by vehicles used for goods and passenger traffic. Industrialized countries such as Australia, which currently use energy in the least efficient way, can reduce their consumption drastically without the loss of either housing comfort or amenity. Increased energy efficiency of buildings had the support of the former leader of the federal opposition, Malcolm Turnbull.
Energy storage
Hydrogen may become an important export.
Biochar
Biochar
Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and Ash (analytical chemistry),
ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the th ...
has been promoted as a technique for mitigation of global warming. The former leader of the federal opposition, Malcolm Turnbull brought biochar into the political debate by announcing that burying agricultural waste was one of three under-invested areas that his mitigation strategy was committed to opening up.
Publications and interest groups which track the fledgling Australian industry are divided over the suitability of biochar to the economy. Brian Toohey of ''
The Australian Financial Review
''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
'' has said it is yet to be proven commercially viable.
Friends of the Earth Australia
Friends of the Earth (FoE) Australia is a federation of independent local groups working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. It believes that pursuing environmental protection is inseparable from broader social conc ...
, one of the larger environmental lobby groups, is fundamentally opposed to biochar, calling it "part of a series of false solutions to climate change" which will be "based on large-scale industrial plantations and will lead to the acquisition of large tracts of land, furthering the erosion of indigenous peoples' and community rights while not adequately addressing the climate crisis".
''
Green Left Weekly
''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. Green Left is the d ...
'' has published several editorials supporting the development of a large-scale biochar industry.
Reforestation
Reforestation programs have adaptation and mitigation strategy overlap, and in 2014, the "20 million Trees Programme" was announced as a national strategy. The plan aimed to further native resilience against climatic changes by creating a self-sustaining tree-based ecosystem by planting 20 million native trees across Australia by 2020. The Programme falls under the authority of the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme. Increasing the coverage of flora range has the potential and capability to increase the habitability potential of areas threatened by climatic change and improve ecological communities that may be threatened or endangered.
The Commonwealth government announced a plan in 2019 which would invest in Australia's forestry industry by planting 1 billion trees in nine forestry hubs throughout Australia by 2030. Land management and biodiversity programs have emissions reduction benefits to both agricultural and environmental. Advantages stem from the land's ability to adapt to climatic changes by helping to fight soil erosion and stabilize soil as well as providing shelter to native and agricultural animals. AUD 1 billion will be invested the National Landcare program between 2018 and 2019 and 2022–23.
Mitigation (policy aspects)
The economic impact of a 60% reduction of emissions by 2050 was modeled in 2006 in a study commissioned by the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change. The World Resources Institute identifies policy uncertainty and over-reliance on international markets as the top threats to Australia's GHG mitigation.
Domestic
After contributing to the development of, then signing but not ratifying the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
, action to address climate change was coordinated through the Australian Greenhouse Office. The Australian Greenhouse Office released the ''National Greenhouse Strategy'' in 1998. The report recognized climate change was of global significance and that Australia had an international obligation to address the problem. In 2000 the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee conducted an inquiry that produced ''The Heat is On: Australia's Greenhouse Future''.
One of Australia's first national attempt to reduce emissions was the voluntary-based initiative called the Greenhouse Challenge Program which began in 1995. A collection of measures which focused on reducing the environmental impacts of the energy sector were released by Prime Minister
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
on 20 November 1997 in a policy statement called ''Safeguarding Our Future: Australia's Response to Climate Change''. One measure was the establishment of the
Australian Greenhouse Office
The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) was formed in 1998 within the Government of Australia as a stand-alone agency within the environment portfolio to provide a whole of government approach to greenhouse matters. It was the world's first governme ...
, which was set up as the world's first dedicated greenhouse office in April 1998.
Domestically, the Clean Energy Act 2011 addresses GHG with an emissions cap, carbon price, and subsidies.
Emissions by the electric sector are addressed by Renewable Energy targets at multiple scales, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), carbon capture and storage flagships, and feed-in tariffs on solar panels. Emissions by the industrial sector are addressed by the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program. Emissions by the building sector are addressed by building codes, minimum energy performance standards, Commercial Building Disclosure program, state energy-saving obligations, and the National Energy Saving Initiative. Emissions by the transportation sector are addressed by reduced fuel tax credits and vehicle emissions performance standards. Emissions by the agricultural sector are addressed by the Carbon Farming Initiative and state land-clearing laws. Emissions by the land use sector are addressed by the Clean Energy Future Package, which consists of the Carbon Farming Futures program, Diversity Fund, Regional Natural Resources Management Planning for Climate Change Fund, Indigenous Carbon Farming Fund,
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), and Carbon Farming Skills program. State energy saving schemes vary by state, with the Energy Saving Scheme (ESS) in North South Wales, Residential Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES) in South Australia, Energy Saver Incentive Scheme (ESI) in Victoria, and Energy Efficiency Improvement Scheme (EEIS) in Australian Capital Territory.
Carbon Trading and Emission Trading Scheme
In June 2007, former Australian Prime Minister,
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
, announced that Australia would adopt a Carbon Trading Scheme by 2012. The scheme was expected to be the same as the counterpart in United States and European Union using carbon credits, where businesses must purchase a license in order to generate pollution.
The scheme received broad criticism from both the
ALP and
Greens. The ALP believed that the scheme was too weak as well as a bad political move by the government. The lack of clear target by the government for this scheme before the
2007 federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
produced a high degree of skepticism on the willingness of the government on mitigation of global warming in Australia.
In March 2008, the newly elected Labor government of Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
announced that the
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (or CPRS) was a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme for anthropogenic greenhouse gases proposed by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy, which had been due to commence in Australia in ...
(a cap-and-trade emissions trading system) would be introduced in 2010, however this scheme was initially delayed by a year to mid-2011, and subsequently delayed further until 2013.
In April 2010, Kevin Rudd announced the delay the CPRS until after the commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
, which ends in 2012. Reasons given were the lack of
bipartisan
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...
support for the CPRS and slow international progress on climate action for the delay.
The Federal Opposition strongly criticized the delay as did community and grassroots action groups such as
GetUp.
Prime Ministerial Task Group
Carbon taxation
Another method of
mitigation of global warming
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels bur ...
considered by the Australian Government is a
carbon tax
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...
. This method would involve imposing an additional tax on the use of
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
s to generate energy. Compared to the CPRS and CTS/ETS, a carbon tax would set the cost for all carbon emissions, while the cap itself would be left unattended, allowing
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
movements.
This tax would primarily be aimed to reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy generation, and also look to increase
efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to ...
and increase demand for
alternative energies
Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of enviro ...
.
A carbon tax was introduced by the government of
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
on 1 July 2012. It requires businesses emitting over 25,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent
Global warming potential (GWP) is the heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide (). GWP is 1 for . For other gases it depends on the gas and the time ...
emissions annually to purchase emissions permits, which initially cost
A$23 for one
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
of CO
2 equivalent. The tax was repealed by the Australian senate on 17 July 2014. The reason given for the repeal by Australia's 2014 prime minister Tony Abbot was that the tax cost jobs and increased energy prices. Opponents to the repeal say that there has been an increase in Australian pollution since the tax's repeal. Since the repeal there has been several calls to re-implement the tax from multiple public figures, including Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman.
Pathways for climate change mitigation
Greenpeace energy revolution
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
calls for a complete energy revolution. There are some fundamental aspects to this revolution, aimed as changing the way that energy is produced, distributed and consumed.
The five principles of this revolution are:
* implement renewable solutions, especially through decentralized energy systems;
* respect the natural limits of the environment;
* phase out dirty, unsustainable energy sources;
* create greater equity in the use of resources;
* decouple economic growth from the consumption of fossil fuels.
Other goals of the energy revolution are:
* renewable energy: 40% of electricity provided by renewable sources by 2020;
* coal-fired power will be phased out entirely by 2030;
* using electricity for the transport system and cutting consumption of fossil fuels through efficiency.
The energy revolution report also looks at policy suggestions for the Australian Government in regards to climate change. Policy suggestions of the report include:
* legislate a greenhouse gas reduction target of greater than 40% below 1990 levels by 2020;
* establish an emissions trading scheme that delivers a decrease of our emissions in line with legislated interim targets;
* legislate a national target for 40% of electricity to be generated by renewable energy sources by 2020;
* massively invest in the deployment of renewable energy and strongly regulate for energy efficiency measures;
* establish an immediate moratorium on new coal-fired power stations and extensions to existing coal-fired power stations, and phase out existing coal-fired power stations in Australia by 2030;
* set a target of 2% per year to reduce Australia's primary energy demand;
* ensure transitional arrangements for coal dependent communities that might be affected by the transition to a clean energy economy;
* redirect all public subsidies that encourage the use and production of fossil fuels towards implementing energy efficiency programs, deploying renewable energy and supporting the upgrading of public transport infrastructure;
* develop a highly trained “green” workforce through investment in training programs and apprenticeships.
Climate Code Red: The case for a sustainability emergency
Climate Code Red states that the key strategies for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to zero are resource efficiency backed up by the substitution of renewable energy for fossil fuel sources.
The report sites ultra-efficient technologies and synergies, and wind power as ways in which to tackle the climate change problem within Australia.
Climate Code Red also has an outline for a rapid transition to a safe-climate economy. This plan includes:
* having the building capacity to plan, coordinate and allocate resources for high priority infrastructure projects and to invest sufficiently in the means to make safe-climate producer and consumer goods;
* fostering research and innovation to produce, develop and scale up the necessary technologies, products and processes;
* national building and industry energy efficiency programmes, including mandatory and enforceable minimum standards for domestic and commercial buildings, and the allocation of public resources to help householders, especially those with limited financial capacity, to reduce energy use;
* the rapid construction of capacity across a range of renewable technologies at both a national and micro level to produce sufficient electricity to allow the closure of the fossil fuel-fired generating industry;
* the conversion and expansion of Australia's car industry to manufacture zero-emission vehicles for public and
private transport
Private transport (as opposed to public transport) is the personal or individual use of transportation which are not available for use by the general public, where in theory the user can decide freely on the time and route of transit ('choice ...
;
* the renewal and electrification of national and regional train networks to provide the capacity to shift all long-distance freight from road and air to rail;
Further information:
High-speed rail in Australia
High-speed rail in Australia has been under investigation since the early 1980s. Every Federal Government since this time has investigated the feasibility of constructing high-speed rail with speeds above 200 km/h, but to date nothing has ev ...
* providing safe-climate expertise, technologies, goods and services to less developed nations to support their transition to the post-carbon world;
* adjustment and reskilling programmes for workers, communities and industries affected by the impacts of global warming and by the transition to the new economy.
Garnaut climate change review
Green paper 2008
Climate Change Authority review
The Australian Climate Change Authority made recommendations to the Commonwealth government in 2016 to develop a toolkit of policies to guide the country into the future,
the focal point for the 'toolkit' is Australia's Paris Agreement obligations. In 2017, the Commonwealth government commissioned an effectiveness' assessment of emissions reductions policies to meet its Paris Agreement obligations by 2030. The results of the evaluation were to develop both adaptation and mitigation measure which would cover all sectors of the economy, under the Paris Agreement these measure fall under "ratchet mechanism". To meet the 2030 Paris Agreements 2 °C limit of global median temperature rise a five-year review and adjustment cycle will commence beginning in 2023.
Solutions
There are a number of ways to achieve the goals outlined above. This includes implementing clean, renewable solutions and decentralizing energy systems.
Existing technologies are available to use energy effectively and ecologically, including the use of
solar,
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
, and other renewable technologies, which have experienced double digit market growth globally in the last decade.
A large section of the scientific community believe that one of the real solutions to
avoiding dangerous climate change
In 2005, an international conference titled Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change: A Scientific Symposium on Stabilisation of Greenhouse Gases examined the link between atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration and global warming and its effects. ...
lies in renewable energy and energy efficiency that can start protecting the climate today. Technically accessible renewable energy sources such as wind, wave, and solar, are capable of providing six times more energy than the world currently consumes.
As coal is one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases, closing coal power stations is one of the most powerful tools for carbon emission reduction.
The city of Melbourne is working with the wider Australian government to make Melbourne
carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by the year 2050. The name of the plan i
Melbourne Together for 1.5°C The plan includes ways for Melbourne to reduce the impact of waste, and models for how to reduce transport and building emissions to zero. This is a continuation off of a plan created in 2003 to have Melbourne carbon neutral by 2020, but this did not succeed.
Federal Government action
Howard government
The Howard government was resistant to taking action to prevent global warming that would harm Australia's economy, a policy continued from the prior Keating government.
In 1996 in the lead up to the Kyoto treaty this slow going attitude caused conflict with the US and EU who at that time were proposing legally binding emissions targets as part of Kyoto. Australia was unwilling to accept stricter timeframes and emissions reductions targets, such as the 20% cut (from 1990 to 2005) proposed by smaller pacific island states, because of its
carbon-intensive economy.
Increasingly, in the lead up to the Kyoto conference, the Howard government became internationally isolated on its climate change policy. With Australia's opposition to binding targets "figur
ngprominently in the prime minister's
ecentdiscussions in Washington and London" as highlighted in a Cabinet memo.
In 1997 the Cabinet agreed to establish a climate change taskforce to strengthen its Kyoto bargaining position.
In 1998 the Australian Government, under Prime Minister John Howard, established the
Australian Greenhouse Office
The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) was formed in 1998 within the Government of Australia as a stand-alone agency within the environment portfolio to provide a whole of government approach to greenhouse matters. It was the world's first governme ...
, which was then the world's first government agency dedicated to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, And, also in 1998, Australia signed but did not ratify the Kyoto protocols.
The Australian Greenhouse Office put forward proposals for emissions reductions in 2000 (rejected in cabinet), 2003 (vetoed by Howard) and 2006 which was accepted by Howard and became the basis for his pre election emissions trading scheme proposal.
Rudd government
In 2007, after the
first Rudd government
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
was sworn in, the new
Department of Climate Change
The Department of Climate Change was an Australian Government department that existed between 2007 and 2010.
Operational activities
The functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters:
*Development and co-ordinat ...
was established under the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio and entrusted with coordinating and leading climate policy.
The Kyoto protocol was ratified nine days after.
The 2009 budget committed the government to a 25% reduction by 2020 on 2000 levels if "the world agrees to an ambitious global deal to stabilise levels of CO
2 equivalent at 450 parts per million or lower by mid-century".
In December 2009 Malcolm Turnbull the then opposition leader is unseated by Tony Abbot, voiding a speculated deal on an emissions trading scheme between the opposition and the government.
This happens a day before the second rejection of the
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (or CPRS) was a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme for anthropogenic greenhouse gases proposed by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy, which had been due to commence in Australia in ...
bill by the Senate on 2 December 2009. On 2 February the Emissions Trading Scheme legislation is introduced for the third time, it is voted down again and the Liberal party unveils its own climate mitigation legislation, the Direct Action Plan.
On 27 April 2010, the Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
announced that the Government has decided to delay the implementation of the
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (or CPRS) was a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme for anthropogenic greenhouse gases proposed by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy, which had been due to commence in Australia in ...
(CPRS) until the end of the first commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
(ending in 2012). The government cited the lack of bipartisan support for the CPRS and the withdrawal of support by the
Greens, and slow international progress on climate action after the
Copenhagen Summit
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...
, as the reasons for the decision. The delay of the implementation of the CPRS was strongly criticised by the Federal Opposition under Abbott and by community and grassroots action groups such as
GetUp.
Gillard (and second Rudd) government
To reduce Australia's carbon emissions, the
government of Julia Gillard introduced a
carbon tax
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...
on 1 July 2012, which required large businesses, defined as those emitting over 25,000 tons of
carbon dioxide equivalent
Global warming potential (GWP) is the heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide (). GWP is 1 for . For other gases it depends on the gas and the time ...
annually, to purchase emissions permits. The Carbon Tax reduced Australia's carbon dioxide emissions, with coal generation down 11% since 2008–09.
Abbot government
The subsequent
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
, elected in 2013 under then Prime Minister
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
was criticised for being "in complete denial about climate change". Abbott became known for his anti-climate change positions as was evident in a number of policies adopted by his administration. In a global warming meeting held in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, he reportedly said that proponents of climate change are alarmists, underscoring a need for "evidence-based" policymaking. The Abbott government repealed the carbon tax on 17 July 2014 in a heavily criticised move.
The renewable energy target (
RET), launched in 2001, was also modified.
Turnbull government
However, under the government of
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Turnbull grad ...
, Australia attended the
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Conve ...
and adopted the
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
, which includes a review of emission reduction targets every 5 years from 2020.
Australia's Clean Energy Target (CET) came under threat in October 2017 from former Prime Minister
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
. This could lead to the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
withdrawing support from the
Turnbull government's new
energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...
.
Climate policy continues to be controversial. Following the repeal of the carbon price in the last parliament, the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is now Australia's main mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, two-thirds of the ERF's allocated $2.5 billion funding has now been spent. The ERF, and other policies, will need further funding to achieve our climate targets.
Morrison government
Under the
Morrison Government
The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...
, Australia experienced some criticism as it plans to use a carbon accounting
loophole
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow verti ...
from the expiring Kyoto Protocol agreement to fulfill its (already modest) Paris commitments. According to Climate Analytics, Australia pledged in Paris to cut its emissions between 26% and 28% below 2005 levels by 2030 but it is currently on track for a 7% cut.
The Coalition Government repeatedly claimed in 2019 that it turned around Australia's greenhouse gas emissions that it inherited from the Labor Government. Scott Morrison,
Angus Taylor and other senior Coalition figures repeated this claim. The Coalition actually inherited a strong position from the Labor Government which had enacted the carbon tax.
There are suggestions that disinformation is spread about the cause of Australia bushfires.
On 1 November 2019, Scott Morrison outlined in a speech of mining delegates at the Queensland Resources Council that he planned to legislate to outlaw climate boycotts.
State government actions
Per person emissions vary considerably by state.
Victoria
![Victorian_Central_Highlands_log_dump_03_Pengo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Victorian_Central_Highlands_log_dump_03_Pengo.jpg)
The state of Victoria, in particular, has been proactive in pursuing reductions in GHG through a range of initiatives. In 1989 it produced the first state climate change strategy, "The Greenhouse Challenge". Other states have also taken a more proactive stance than the federal government. One such initiative undertaken by the Victorian Government is the 2002 Greenhouse Challenge for Energy Policy package, which aims to reduce Victorian emissions through a mandated renewable energy target. Initially, it aimed to have a 10 per cent share of Victoria's energy consumption being produced by renewable technologies by 2010, with 1000 MW of wind power under construction by 2006. The government legislated to ensure that by 2016 electricity retailers in Victoria purchase 10 per cent of their energy from renewables. This was ultimately overtaken by the national Renewable Energy Target (RET). By providing a market incentive for the development of renewables, the government helps foster the development of the renewable energy sector. A Green Paper and White Paper on Climate Change was produced in 2010, including funding for a number of programs. A Climate Change Act was passed including targets for 50% reduction in emissions. A recent review of this Act has recommended further changes.
The supreme court of Australia stopped a logging project in Victoria because it will be particularly destructive after the bushfires. The premier of Victoria
Daniel Andrews
Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...
announced that by 2030
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
in the state will be banned.
South Australia
Former Premier
Mike Rann
Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...
(2002–2011) was Australia's first Climate Change Minister and passed legislation committing South Australia to renewable energy and emissions reduction targets. Announced in March 2006, this was the first legislation passed anywhere in Australia committed to cutting emissions. By the end of 2011, 26% of South Australia's electricity generation derived from wind power, edging out coal-fired power for the first time. Although only 7.2% of Australia's population live in South Australia, in 2011, it had 54% of Australia's installed wind capacity. Following the introduction of solar feed-in tariff legislation South Australia also had the highest per-capita take-up of household rooftop photo-voltaic installations in Australia. In an educative program, the Rann government invested in installing rooftop solar arrays on the major public buildings including the Parliament, Museum, Adelaide Airport, Adelaide Showgrounds pavilion and public schools. About 31% of South Australia's total power is derived from renewables. In the five years to the end of 2011, South Australia experienced a 15% drop in emissions, despite strong employment and economic growth during this period.
In 2010, the
Solar Art Prize was created by Pip Fletcher, and has run annually since, inviting artists from South Australia to reflect subjects of climate change and environmentalism in their work. Some winning artists receive renewable energy service prizes which can be redeemed as solar panels, solar hot water or battery storage systems.
See also
*
Climate change in Australia
Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Since th ...
*
Coal mining in Australia
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity gener ...
*
Environmental issues in Australia
Environmental issue in Australia describes a number of environmental issues which affect the environment of Australia. There are a range of such issues, some of the relating to conservation in Australia while others, for example the deteriora ...
*
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment
*
Plug-in electric vehicles in Australia
References
External links
Australia's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target(
Australia's MRET)
Garnaut Review(
Garnaut Climate Change Review)
{{Portal bar, Australia, Climate change, border=n
Climate change in Australia
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Emissions reduction
Environmental impact in Australia