Sydney, Oct. 26 (BUS): Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that Australia will head to COP26 with net zero emissions by 2050.
Canberra has been accused of being slow in setting net-zero targets, and Morrison received criticism for suggesting he might not even attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, which opens in Glasgow on Sunday. He has since confirmed that he will attend.
“In Glasgow I will ensure that Australia will continue to play our part,” Morrison wrote in an opinion piece for News Corp Media. “We will set a target of achieving net zero by 2050 and have a clear plan to achieve that.”
At a press conference unveiling the goal, Morrison said modeling showed Australia was ready to cut emissions by up to 35 percent by 2030. He said the country would however not update its current target of 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2005. 2030.
Industry, Energy and Emissions Reductions Minister Angus Taylor said the net-zero plan would focus primarily on offsets. Taylor cited carbon sequestration and 90 million hectares of farmland that could be a significant “carbon sink”.
Taylor said the plan would focus on “technology, not tax,” while Morrison said there would be no mandate or legislation for the plan.
Morrison has repeatedly said the plan would protect jobs and “lifestyle” in regional Australia, which is dominated by the mining industry.
The Australian News Agency (AAP) reported that the government estimates the plan will create 62,000 new regional mining and heavy industries jobs, according to the Australian News Agency (AAP).
Key parts of the plan include investing about $20 billion in low-emissions technology investment by 2030, with existing technologies being used to achieve 85 percent of the target.
Morrison’s liberal party and its junior partner in the National Coalition, have reached a final agreement on climate goals after much controversy in recent days.
Morrison said Australia has now moved beyond “when and when” and will now focus on “how”.
Morrison said all relevant policies will be released before the next federal election in Australia in 2022.
A United Nations report released on Monday said the latest climate action plans from the 192 countries participating in COP26 were not enough and put average global temperature on track to rise 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
COP26 is seen as the most important conference on global warming since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which saw countries set a target to stay below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably below 1.5 degrees, above pre-industrial levels.
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