Global fossil fuel emissions dropped by about seven per cent in 2020 compared with 2019. But a rebound is likely to occur when lockdowns ease up unless COVID-19 recovery packages focus on ‘green recovery.’
(AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Several countries have made pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero by mid-century. But new research finds the remaining carbon budget will be depleted before we get there.
The Paris Agreement on climate change, signed on Dec. 12, 2015, by almost 200 states, was hailed as the turning point to keep global warming in check. Progress, however, has been insufficient.
(UNclimate change/flickr)
The Paris Agreement set countries on a path to limit global warming. Five years on, some progress has been made, but not enough. Decarbonizing the economy will take leadership and imagination.
Whether to attending a conferences or giving in to a meeting, the global research community is keen on air travel. That’s a habit that needs to change.
Three years after the Paris Agreement, negotiators have finally agreed (most of) the rules for its implementation. But there is still no way to compel countries to deepen their climate ambitions.
An NGO representative stands in front of a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris climate change conference in December 2015.
(Michel Euler/AP Photo)
The latest UN climate report makes it clear that the task of limiting climate change is urgent and huge. We must start to transform our economy today, but it will bring rewards as well as challenges.
Limiting global warming to 1.5C is a tough challenge but still within reach, according to a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change commissioned after the 2015 Paris summit.
Australia has just two decades to put itself on the path to zero greenhouse emissions.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The world needs to be carbon-neutral by mid-century to give ourselves a chance of holding global warming to 1.5C. With around 1% of the global carbon budget, Australia needs to rapidly do its share.
Other countries have carbon budgets. Why not Canada?
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Will the renewable energy transition end up creating yet more greenhouse emissions, as we ramp up the manufacture of wind turbines and solar cells? Not if their manufacture is itself powered by renewables.
The window for staving off the worst of climate change is wider than we thought, but still pretty narrow.
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It's still possible to hit the more ambitious of the two Paris global warming goals, according to a new estimate of the global carbon budget. But it sure won't be easy, and we need to start now.
Many banks are worried that coal investments could be left stranded on their asset books.
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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.
The Climate Change Authority’s latest report has divided its membership.
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Two members of the Climate Change Authority offer an alternative view on its latest report, arguing that the recommendations are not in line with Australia's international climate obligations.
Half a degree could make all the difference for the Great Barrier Reef.
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James Whitmore, The Conversation and Michael Hopkin, The Conversation
A new report published by the Climate Institute says Australia could avoid lengthy heatwaves and help save the Great Barrier Reef by meeting the Paris Agreement's 1.5C global warming goal.