Bill Hare, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Niklas Höhne, Wageningen University
Phasing out greenhouse gas emissions entirely by mid-century is possible, and promising trends are emerging. But the next five to ten years will be the real test of whether we can make that happen.
Managers from carbon intensive companies are holding off on long term emissions strategies because of uncertainty around regulations and policies, new research finds.
Environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg said that eight out of Australia’s 12 most emission intensive power stations closed in the last five years. Is that right?
The court action ACCC has brought against Volkswagen might not succeed because Australia’s emissions standards are not as strict as those in the US and Europe.
Labor’s shadow environment minister, Mark Butler, said Australia is now “pretty much the only major advanced economy where pollution levels are going up, not coming down.” Is that right?
The granting of a mining lease to the Carmichael coal project, despite the huge potential greenhouse emissions, shows that ministers need to consider the wider consequences of their approvals.
Energy companies are realising that, in light of the Paris climate deal, the economics are starting to line up in favour of climate action, not against it.
Australia’s greenhouse emissions are once again rising, after a decade of consistent declines. But the right policies are already in place to turn things around - they just need to be ramped up.
The Aliso Canyon methane leak in California is bad, but it’s only a small portion of the methane leaked from the natural gas industry’s sprawling pipeline and storage infrastructure.
When Australia’s government first pledged to set an emission-reduction target, Jon Bon Jovi was riding high in the charts. The progress made in the 25 years since has hardly been a blaze of glory.