How will Australia contribute to a climate change solution?
Australia has access to abundant solar, wind, geothermal and wave energy. We have the resources, skills and knowledge to shift to a clean economy that produces less pollution, more jobs, healthy children, and safeguards wildlife and ecosystems.
To limit warming to 1.5 degrees, the Australian Government must implement a national plan to reduce Australia’s pollution, and make clean energy cheaper while creating new jobs.
A national Australian pollution-reduction plan must:
To limit warming to 1.5 degrees, the Australian Government must implement a national plan to reduce Australia’s pollution, and make clean energy cheaper while creating new jobs.
A national Australian pollution-reduction plan must:
- Reduce carbon pollution by at least 25% by 2020 and at least 90% by 2050
- Implement a price on pollution by 2011, preferably through an emissions trading scheme
- Increase to 40% by 2030 the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and modify it or implement a large scale feed-in-tariff to better support emerging technologies like geothermal, wave and solar thermal
- Halt land clearing and provide incentives to landholders to preserve and grow trees to absorb carbon pollution and protect habitats
- Implement world’s best practice for energy efficiency and vehicle emission standards
- Ensure that no new coal-fired power stations are built unless they undertake carbon capture and storage at start up
- Build on the Copenhagen Accord to deliver a fair, ambitious and legally-binding agreement at COP17 in South Africa in 2011.
Solar panel on roof of Sustainable Energy Development Authority Office, Sydney, Australia.
