Does Australia have any friends left when it comes to its position on climate change? The answer is looking more and more like no.
With the United States moving towards net-zero emissions under a Joe Biden presidency and the UK making more climate commitments, there’s growing pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to get into line.
Even his friends at News Corp think he has “no choice”. Paul Kelly writes that the net-zero target, once radical, is now entrenched in the middle ground, “the place where the prime minister likes to be”.
But Morrison continues to drag his feet, even as his former finance minister Mathias Cormann jets around the world espousing the need for urgent climate action for a chance to lead the OECD.
In the past few months a flood of countries, cities and regions have upped their climate credentials and moved towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
Here are some of them:
United Kingdom: Boris Johnson has announced a 10-point green plan that would allow the UK to make “strides towards net zero by 2050”.
New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern has called climate change “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and has introduced legislation setting up a climate change commission to put the country on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050.
United States: Biden has pledged to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, and has proposed to make US electricity production carbon-free by 2035 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Canada: Justin Trudeau unveiled plans last month to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. His party has tabled a bill that would require the government to report on its goals every five years between 2030-50.
European Union: the EU adopted a net-zero-by-2050 target in 2019 and in September proposed to increase its 2030 target from 40% to 55% reduction below 1990 levels.
France: France passed laws in 2019 to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, including a move away from nuclear power.
Sweden, Finland, Austria: Sweden is a world leader in net-zero emissions targets, passing legislation in 2017 to be carbon neutral by 2045. Finland and Austria have pledged to reach net zero by 2035 and 2040 respectively.
South Korea, Japan, China: Australia’s biggest trading partners have moved on climate change in recent months. South Korea has launched a Green New Deal and committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050; in October China stunned the world with its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2060.
