BY MITCHELL BELCHER –
The 2019-2020 summer bushfires depicted the extreme and devastating impacts of climate change already here now. The subsequent toll on human and animal life generated public concern over the necessity to act early in order to prevent future consequences. This distress was largely pushed aside in the public sphere as the concern shifted to the more immediate issue of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in August the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) released a report predicting a global warming of 1.5oC as early as 2030. This landmark report reinforced the urgency of responding to the climate crisis. This is why COP26, held in Glasgow from early November will be critically important in preventing a runaway climate catastrophe. Thus, Australia needs to step up on this issue so as to not be further politically or economically isolated.
What is COP26?
COP26, which stands for the ‘conference of parties’, is the 26th annual meeting between United Nations member states around the world. They take part in lengthy climate change negotiations and each year a different country hosts the meeting. The COP meetings represent the biggest attempt by the international community to address climate change. The annual summits discuss countries’ goals and commitments, as well technologies, policies and the mobilisation of finances.
At COP21 (Paris 2015), member countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement, whereby nations agreed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees. Australia has ratified the Paris Agreement along with 190 other countries, representing the biggest endorsement to act on the environmental problem.
Global Pressure on Australian Climate Policy
On the world stage, Australia has increasingly been criticised for its lack of ambitious climate policies. According to the Climate Change Performance Index, Australia is ranked 54th in the world for its climate policies. Australia received a score of 28.82 out of 100 — which is deemed a very low rating by the institution.
The UK High Commissioner to Australia, Vicki Treadell has asked “for all nations to have a high level of ambition, not just for net zero by 2050” in the lead up of the COP-26 this year. This expresses the ambition of the UK to step up to the world’s commitment on Climate Change. The United Kingdom announced in May 2021 that it would reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 from 1990 levels. These comments are politically awkward for Australia as it has not managed to even commit to net-zero by 2050. This highlights how behind Australia is on climate contributions. Similar rhetoric is expressed from the USA with President Joe Biden committing a 50% reduction of 2005 levels. US envoys have called Australia’s climate policy “insufficient” and have asked for greater contributions. Both the UK and the USA are arguably most like-minded to Australia yet have very different responses to climate change. The risk of Australia continuing to ignore the active approach of these nations is that it becomes increasingly politically isolated as the West reduces its carbon emissions.
Additionally, there are economic repercussions for Australia’s inaction on climate change, with a reduced demand for fossil fuels as well as the prospect of global carbon tariffs. This July the European Union established what it calls a ‘carbon border adjustment mechanism.’ It is designed to tax imports into the EU with the equivalent EU carbon price of roughly $90 per tonne and will be implemented in full by 2026. Although this has a small direct impact on Australia, who exports fossil fuels largely to Asia, the premise of other countries establishing similar carbon taxes could have large economic ramifications for Australia. The World Bank emphasises the growing drive of countries to implement carbon pricing as it “helps shift the burden for the damage back to those who are responsible for it.” This highlights the necessity of Australia to move away from the fossil fuel industry so as not to risk economic losses.
Internal Divisions on Australian Climate Policy
The State and Federal Governments of Australia are divided on the issue of climate change. Largely, the state governments, regardless of political parties, adhere to the necessity of dealing with climate change following long and interim goals. The Climate Change Performance Index highlights “positive developments at the sub-national level, especially in renewable energy”, highlighting how the states have made good progress on climate. All state and territory governments of Australia have set 2050 climate targets of net zero emissions. Victoria this year announced that by 2025 all government operations will be powered by renewables. This includes schools and hospitals, and will be supplemented by a $3000 subsidy for electric vehicles. Yet, the Federal Government last year announced a ‘Gas-Fired Recovery’, which consists of spending $23.8 million on opening five new gas basins in order to “create 4000 new jobs”. To add fuel to the fire, the Federal government under Scott Morrison still refuses to adhere to even a 2050 goal of net-zero emissions.
Additionally, the Federal government has had a long-held tradition of conservative climate politics, with the consistent overturning of Prime Ministers on this issue such as Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Malcom Turnbull. The Natural Journal proposes that the lack of climate policies could be a result of this history. They state that “the NEG is the fourth national climate policy rejected by Australia’s conservative government since it was elected in 2013”. The NEG was Malcom Turnbull’s signature environmental energy policy.
Conclusions
Australia’s lack of response in addressing climate change has placed it in an awkward position. It is the lack of unity in Australia’s domestic politics on climate that is problematic. As a result of conservative climate policies Australia’s outlier position could have political and economic repercussions in addition to worsening climate impacts. Thus, Australian State and Federal politics need to be on the same page about how to address climate change, particularly as other countries seek to make even more ambitious targets at COP26.
If you would like to learn more about climate change and COP26, Pivot cordially invites you to attend MIRSA & MIAS Present: Insights into COP26 and Beyond on Wednesday 27th of October.
