Climate experts have described the setting of Australia’s new climate target on Thursday as a historic “sliding doors moment” for the country and the most important decision by a government for a century.
But what is this all about? Let’s get back to some basics.
What is a climate target?
More than 190 countries including Australia signed a United Nations agreement in Paris in 2015 to keep global heating “well below 2C” and to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5C above temperatures on the planet before the Industrial Revolution got going.
Because global heating is caused by releases of greenhouse gases – in particular carbon dioxide – when fossil fuels are burned and forests are cut down, climate targets relate to the release of greenhouse gases.
Some countries include several targets as part of an overall pledge to the UN (known as a Nationally Determined Contribution), such as increasing the amount of forest cover, or increasing the amount of renewable energy they produce.
Most developed countries include a target that relates directly to how much greenhouse gas they release into the atmosphere. Some targets are conditional on what other countries will do, and some targets are unconditional.
Australia’s current target for the year 2030 is to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 47% from where they were in 2005.
What has the government announced today?
The Albanese government has said it will aim to cut its emissions by between 62% and 70% by the year 2035 from where they were in 2005.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the target was “responsible”.
He said: “It is the right target to protect our environment, to protect and advance our economy and jobs and to ensure that we act in our national interest and in the interest of this and future generations.”
The government also announced a “net zero plan”. This plan essentially lays out what the government thinks needs to happen to reach the longer-term net zero goal.
More than 70 countries, including Australia, have previously submitted long-term strategies like this “net zero plan” to the United Nations.
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What does net zero mean?
Australia also has a target to reach “net zero emissions” by 2050.
The term “net zero” means that after adding up all the emissions of greenhouse gas, such as how much fossil fuel was burned, and then subtracting all the ways greenhouse gases have been captured, such as in soils and trees or using technology to grab CO2 from the air, the final amount should be zero.
How does Australia’s 2035 target compare with what other countries are doing?
Climate targets are not always easy to compare, because not all countries use the same starting years from which to measure their progress, or even aim to do the same things.
So far, fewer than 40 countries have submitted new climate targets for the year 2035, but many will be announcing new targets to meet a UN deadline of the end of this month.
The UK has a 2035 goal that is the equivalent of cutting emissions by 78% compared with 2005 levels and the European Union is expected to set a goal in the high 60s or low 70s.
Japan (59%) Canada (45-50%) and New Zealand (51-55%) have set lower 2035 targets than Australia.
Under Donald Trump, the United States has pulled out of the UN’s climate process.
China, the world’s biggest polluter, has a current goal to stop emissions rising by 2030.
Why is this all important?
For two main reasons.
Firstly, as a government report outlined this week, climate change is already hitting all aspects of life in Australia, from its economy to its natural environment and people’s health and homes.
The climate crisis has been caused by releases of greenhouse gases all over the world and so it will take a collective effort to limit the damage that will be caused in the future. Australia’s target is part of that collective effort.
Secondly, as economies around the world move away from fossil fuels, new economic opportunities have emerged, particularly in renewable energy and technology to lower emissions. Some analysts say a lower target would risk Australia losing out economically.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said on Thursday “the global shift to clean energy is the biggest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution.”
What happens next?
After announcing its 2035 target, Australia will head to the United Nations general assembly later this month to be among more than 100 countries expected to confirm their new climate targets.
After that will come the enormous challenge of finding ways to power our lives and our industries without relying on the fossil fuels that drove development across the world for more than a century, but also created the climate crisis.
Graham Readfearn is Guardian Australia’s environment and climate correspondent
