Australia must achieve net-zero emissions by 2040: gov’t report

CANBERRA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — Australia must reach net-zero emissions by 2040 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the government’s top climate change agency has said.
The Climate Change Authority (CCA) on Thursday released a report on Australia’s progress to reach net-zero emissions, which was compiled at the request of the federal parliament.
The CCA review found that Australia must achieve a 75 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2040 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The governing Labor Party has set a 2030 emissions reduction target of 43 percent and a 2050 net zero target.
The new report said that the 2050 target would be consistent with limiting the average global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius.
It identified the potential technology transition and pathways to decarbonization for six sectors — energy and electricity, agriculture and land, built environment, industry and waste, transport and resources.
The report relies on available and achievable technologies and argues against waiting for unspecified future solutions.
“Working to reduce emissions now, using existing technologies is far more efficient and effective than waiting and hoping that bigger breakthroughs will do all the work. Waiting for new, better, cheaper technologies is tantamount to choosing to continue to emit,” it said.
Releasing the report, CCA chair Matt Kean said that all sectors of the economy and all levels of government must plan and act together to achieve a rapid and orderly transition to net zero.
He called for developers of renewable energy projects to engage with regional communities to better explain the benefits of the rollout.
“By overcoming the barriers to reducing emissions, we can make the Australian economy more prosperous while creating new industries and jobs, improving our energy security, protecting the environment, and reducing the cost of living,” Kean, former treasurer of the state of New South Wales, said in a statement.
The report said that mature renewable technologies such as solar and wind for generation and batteries for storage would get Australia much of the way to net zero, but that opportunities also exist with the rapid development of new technologies, including hydrogen. ■