A new report shows that Australia has the capacity to meet its Paris Agreement targets by 2035 if it sets out on economy-wide decarbonisation in line with keeping global warming at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius, thanks to much cheaper technology. ClimateWorks Australia set out to test whether the implied goal agreed by world leaders at the United Nations sponsored Paris climate conference in 2015, cutting greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” by 2050, was still possible in Australia.
Net-zero emissions targets have been adopted by 121 countries responsible for a quarter of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, asset owners worth $4 trillion and an expanding list of major companies. ClimateWorks spent 18 months examining each part of the Australian economy in detail to consider what would be involved in getting there. It found net-zero emissions were possible not just by mid-century but by 2035, soon enough for Australia to play its part in an effort to limit global heating to 1.5°C. The report lands as the coronavirus crisis has, in a best-case scenario, postponed 2020’s expected focus on climate change.
The report finds the progress and fall in cost of clean technology since the last analysis six years ago had been faster than expected, with renewable energy becoming cheaper than fossil fuels and the cost of batteries plunging 80 per cent in a decade. It said much of the shift needed now could be rolled out quickly by rapid and large-scale deployment of familiar technology.
Source: Econews
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