Australia, as a signatory of the Paris Agreement, is due to submit its 2035 emissions reductions target early next year. How ambitious will it be?
Ambitious v achievable
Since the change of federal government in 2022, Australia has strengthened its environmental goals. It has updated its 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels – up from the original commitment of 26–28 per cent. The government has also reaffirmed its commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
At the same time, real-world data and scientific reports have underlined the need for action. According to the European Union, this year Earth registered its warmest March on record, capping a 10-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record. The United Nations Environment Programme has estimated that based on countries’ existing Paris Agreement pledges, global average temperatures will rise by 2.9°C by the end of the century. Accordingly, the Paris Agreement calls for countries to show the highest ambition possible.
To help determine Australia’s next target for the nationally determined contribution it will submit under the Paris Agreement, the Climate Change Authority has released an issues paper and is seeking public comment. It indicates the need to find a balance between “ambitious” and “achievable”.
Finding the way
As well as exploring the options for emissions reductions targets, the paper delves into the sectoral pathways to achieving those targets. This covers agriculture and land, electricity and energy, industry and waste, resources, transport and, for the first time, the built environment.
The issues paper notes that the built environment has the largest electricity consumption of any sector, meaning it has big opportunities to improve energy productivity and contribute to grid stability. The built environment also represents about 6 per cent of Australia’s Scope 1 emissions, with half coming from onsite gas combustion, and a third from refrigerant leaks.
As well as releasing the issues paper, the Climate Change Authority is consulting directly with stakeholders in different sectors of the economy – including HVAC&R.
Comments are open until May 14 through the Climate Change Authority consultation page.
Photo by Mihai Lazăr on Unsplash