The world’s leaders will meet in Glasgow from 31 Oct to 12 Nov for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, with the aim of increasing the pace of action to halt global warming.
Australia is one of only a few countries without a commitment to or a plan for reaching net zero emissions. Indeed, Australia’s Prime Minister did not even commit to attending the conference until Friday 15 October!*
The IPCC has made it clear that all countries must act urgently to avoid catastrophic impacts in the coming decades.
We need a national plan to slash climate pollution by 2030, with strong targets that at minimum match the United States, the United Kingdom and other trading partners such as the European Union and Japan.
This plan should include:
- Delivery of 100% of our electricity from sun, wind and other renewable power and storage by 2030
- Clean up transport and drive the shift to electric vehicles
- End public funding for coal, oil and gas
- Develop and deliver an Australian Trees and Biodiversity Plan to reduce climate pollution by at least 1 billion tonnes by 2030
- Australia contributes its fair share of global climate finance to support low-income countries implement climate change action.
* Murphy, K, 2021, Australian PM to attend Cop26 in Glasgow but emissions deal with Coalition partner still weeks off, The Guardian, 15 Oct 2021.