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Articles on Emissions targets

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Business, environmental, trade union and social groups all see advantages in looking beyond high-emission industries such as coal-fired power. Nick Pitsas/CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons

Australia’s ‘climate roundtable’ could unite old foes and end the carbon deadlock

The Australian Climate Roundtable unites business, environmental and social groups in calling for a strong climate policy. This unprecedented show of unity might even break down Canberra’s climate stalemate.
The court ruled that Dutch citizens have a legal right to be protected from climate change. Moyan Brenn/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons

What does the Dutch court ruling on climate targets mean for Australia?

For the first time, a court has ordered a government to strengthen its climate targets. It’s a watershed, not just for the Netherlands but potentially for countries such as Australia whose targets have been criticised.
US domestic carriers won’t face emissions curbs until the rest of the world’s airlines do too. Lasse Fuss/Wikimedia Commons

Without a global deal, US curbs on airline emissions are hot air

Greenhouse emissions from the aviation industry are still largely unregulated. The prospect of regulations for US flights sounds like progress, but it won’t happen without an elusive international consensus.
Last week’s G7 meeting showed that turning our backs on fossil fuels altogether is no longer a fringe idea. Michael Keppeler/EPA/AAP Image

We can quibble over timescales, but real climate progress is afoot

Advocates of climate action have been saying it for years - we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels completely. And now, the leaders of the world’s richest countries have started saying the same.
The G7 leaders are hoping to point the world towards a low-carbon transition. EPA/Sven Hoppe/AAP Image

The G7 is right to call for fossil fuel phase-out, but it can happen sooner

G7 leaders have pledged to help end the world’s fossil fuel use by the end of the century. It’s a laudable aim, but decarbonisation can and should be done by the middle, not the end, of this century.
Australia has faced tough questions over whether it is doing its part to cut greenhouse emissions. CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons

Australia in the spotlight at climate talks, for all the wrong reasons

Australia’s grilling by other major nations at this week’s climate talks in Bonn show that it still has serious questions to answer over the scope of its greenhouse emissions-reduction targets.
More mines, more roads, as the government puts its drive towards economic development ahead of all else. AAP Image/Alan Porritt

There are no green shoots for sustainability in this Budget

Amid talk of paths to surplus and investing in infrastructure, both sides of politics seem to have forgotten Australia’s longstanding responsibility to govern sustainably, and not just for the economy.
Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt at last year’s Green Army launch. Funding for the initiative has been slimmed down but is still more than A$700 million. AAP Image/Britta Campion

Federal Budget 2015 – environment experts react

The Federal Budget 2015 makes little mention of emissions reductions or renewable energy, but does feature funding boosts for drought assistance and the Great Barrier Reef. What else is in?
Nations need to focus on the global carbon budget, not on what their neighbours are doing. Andriano/Shutterstock.com

An objective way to decide on a fair Australian emissions pledge

Australia’s emissions target will inevitably be compared with other leading nations. But a fair target should be calculated not on a basis of comparison, but on the world’s shared 2-degree climate goal.
UN chief climate negotiator Christiana Figueres told a Melbourne conference Australia risks becoming an outsider at this year’s crucial Paris talks. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN/AAP

UN climate chief: other countries are ‘further ahead than Australia’

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has hinted that Australia risks becoming an outsider at this year’s Paris climate talks if it doesn’t match the ambition of many other countries’ climate pledges.
The wrong track? The biggest emitters, such as power stations, were largely absent from the government’s first round of greenhouse reduction contracts. AAP Image/Dan Peled

On these numbers, Australia’s emissions auction won’t get the job done

Federal environment minister Greg Hunt has hailed the first round of Emissions Reduction Fund auctions as a “stunning result”. But extrapolating the numbers puts Australia behind on its carbon targets.
Scaling back coalmining is one way Australia could make big progress towards its emissions targets. CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons

Report calls for emissions cuts, but plays down the opportunities

The Climate Change Authority has recommended Australia cut greenhouse gas emissions 30% below 2000 levels by 2025. While sensible, the government is unlikely to accept, and the target misses bigger opportunities to cut emissions.
Climate Change Authority chair Bernie Fraser says other wealthy nations have already pledged far deeper emissions cuts than Australia. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Climate Change Authority calls for 30% emissions cut by 2025

A report from Australia’s Climate Change Authority recommends cutting greenhouse emissions by 30% by 2025 if the country is to be seen as a good global citizen in this year’s climate negotiations.
UN lead climate negotiator Christiana Figueres (second from left) has been hailed as having the dynamism needed to drive the Paris talks. EPA/AAP

Why the Paris climate talks won’t be another Copenhagen

The much-hyped 2009 Copenhagen climate summit yielded only a flimsy accord. But, as Nick Rowley writes in part 2 of his three-part essay on the 2015 Paris climate talks, there are several reasons why this year won’t see another flop.
Hopes for a singular breakthrough at the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks were dashed, but that doesn’t mean the negotiating process isn’t making quiet progress. EPA/Henning Bagger/AAP

The Road to Paris: three myths about international climate talks

Hopes are high that a global climate deal can be reached in Paris this year. In part 1 of a three-part essay on the prospects for such a deal, Nick Rowley sets out three myths about the UN talks that need to be dumped before we go forward.
Countries are working towards meetings in Paris in November that could see the first global climate deal since the Kyoto Protocol. Taylor Miles/Flickr

Explainer: how countries could come to a global climate deal in 2015

Ahead of meetings at the end of this year in Paris, countries will submit draft contributions for a global climate deal. The goal: reducing greenhouse gases beyond 2020, and ultimately keeping global warming below 2C.
Treasurer Joe Hockey didn’t mention climate change in his speech on Australia’s prospects for 2055. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Climate is an intergenerational issue, but the report ducked it

Climate change barely rates a mention in the Intergenerational Report, despite the huge potential costs. Peter Christoff says the only way to overcome this short-sightedness is to end the politics and make the review independent.

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