IEEFA: The Australian government is holding out on setting a net-zero emissions deadline
More and more countries have net zero emissions ambitions, including Australia’s top trading partners China, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the U.S. (with President-elect Joe Biden preparing to move into the White House).
Every Australian state and territory has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 (or sooner for the ACT) and corporates and financial institutions are also adopting decarbonisation targets, for example by new initiatives like the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI). Yet the federal government is holding out on setting a deadline.
IEEFA’s Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies, Australia/South Asia, says this leaves Australia in the “naughty corner” as a global laggard on climate action.
But with the world’s momentum towards net zero and its states and territories moving, will Australia manage to get there anyway by 2050? Yes, says Buckley, but it would be far more efficient and lower cost to our communities with federal government leadership to orchestrate the best route to achieve this critical goal.
Speaking with Angela Lavoipierre and Stephen Smiley, co-hosts of the ABC’s news podcast The Signal, Buckley looks at the implications for the Australian economy of being left behind in the move away from fossil fuels.
They also explore the opportunities for a country blessed with vast renewable resources, including the A$20 billion Sun Cable project to export Australian solar power to Singapore via a 3,750km undersea cable and the Asian Renewable Energy Hub in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia that will generate 26,000 megawatts of low-cost renewable energy for local and export markets.
This podcast was produced by the ABC’s The Signal. Listen to the podcast.
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