Yes, Australia’s greenhouse emissions are a small part of the global total. But we’re a rich, emissions-intensive country that could and should be setting a much better example to the world.
Australia’s future prosperity will require bold action on a number of fronts and a deliberate commitment to careful and considered long-term thinking.
Hendra Pontomudis / unsplash
If the right changes are made today, Australia’s living standards could be up to 36% higher in 2060. This translates into a 90% increase in average wages (in adjusted, real terms) from today.
Removing human-related methane from the atmosphere could reduce global warming by 15%.
Landcorp’s WGV residential development in Fremantle is demonstrating the benefits of making the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Josh Byrne & Associates
The debate about the transition away from fossil fuels has focused on costs, but right here in Australia we have examples of the benefits of sustainable new energy sources for our cities.
Find out what the Ultra Low Emission Zone is, how it works and what Londoners make of the new measures.
The main concern when talking about the liveability of a city like Melbourne should be sustaining the health and well-being of residents.
Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
Rather than mourn the end of a seven-year reign as ‘world’s most liveable city’, Melbourne could raise its sights to become more liveable, healthy and sustainable for all who live in the city.
Labor’s ambitious plans to reduce transport emissions will be dead in the water without regulatory CO2 emission standards and real financial and non-financial incentives for buyers.
A 1 kilowatt solar PV panel can save about 1.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Stepan Franko/AAP
By investing in solar panels and going electric for your motoring and heating, you can directly offset your greenhouse emissions. And in the long run, the upfront costs will repay themselves.
Sharma said a small improvement in the emissions trajectories of large emitters such as China would have much greater impact than anything Australia could itself do.
Joel Carrett/AAP
These efforts should include trying to turn around the United States’ decision to leave the Paris agreement, Sharma told the Coalition for Conservation on Tuesday night.
Lochiel Park in Adelaide was Australia’s first large-scale attempt to create homes that use near net zero energy.
Stephen Berry
Air conditioning changed both building design and people’s active management of home temperatures. A return to houses designed for our climate can keep us comfortable and cut energy use and emissions.
Tourism accounts for 8% of global emissions, much of it from planes.
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Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Corinne Le Quéré, University of East Anglia; Glen Peters, Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo; Robbie Andrew, Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo, and Rob Jackson, Stanford University
For the second year in a row global greenhouse emissions from fossil fuels have risen, putting 2018 on course to set a new record, according to an annual audit from the Global Carbon Project.