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Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
The process inside the Coalition on net zero by 2050 was a shambolic process that has produced a pathetic national position to take to COP26.
Australia is scrambling at the eleventh hour to get to a national position on 2050 while the rest of the world has moved on to ambitious 2030 targets to halve emissions. These 2030 targets are clearly required by the findings of the IPCC report, in line with the states and territories, and important to Australia’s relationship with key allies like the US, the UK and Japan and our closest neighbours in the Blue Pacific.
Most of our key allies will also bring to Glasgow comprehensive transport and energy transition plans. Most nations will make explicit commitments to immediately end public funding for coal, oil and gas.
To have the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia clearly opposed, and the Prime Minister reluctant to attend and unable to broker a decent deal, combined with our weak positions, ensures that Australia will be designated a spoiler at COP26. This undermines our international reputation for leadership. In time, that means our trade deals sour, the financial system evolves without us and our invitations to key global events dry up. This is not a game.
Associate Professor Christian Downie is a political scientist and policy advisor with expertise in energy politics, climate politics, and foreign affairs at the Australian National University
A commitment to net zero emissions is a ticket to entry to the international climate negotiations. Yet committing to 2050 targets without immediate actions to get there is simply another form of delay.
We can't rely only on future plans or future technologies. We have to act now. Every year we delay means hotter summers, longer droughts, and more bushfires.
Associate Professor Helen McGregor is a scientist in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Wollongong
For over a decade this country has been paralysed by inaction on climate change. The net zero emissions agreement with the Nationals is a breakthrough for Australia – every major Australian political party is now aimed at net zero emissions by 2050.
But the job isn’t done. There are many unanswered questions: How will net zero be achieved? What is the goal for 2030? The changes in climate we anticipate will create winners and losers right across the nation. The deeper the cuts now the better off we will be. From here on in every single one of our politicians must focus on achieving net zero emissions as quickly as possible. We have already locked in over one degree Celsius of warming, let’s not lock in more.
Professor David Schoeman is Professor of Global Change Ecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast
For the first time, in approving IPCC WGI’s contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, global governments (all parties to the UNFCCC) acknowledge that 'It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.'
This differs from previous reports, where governments had some 'wiggle room' in the confidence language used. 'Unequivocal' means that governments accept that the science is settled.
That same IPCC WGI report assesses that, irrespective of what we do, the world is likely to reach the important threshold of 1.5°C warming in the 2030s. The more carbon we emit before then, the faster we will get there.
Avoiding 2°C warming before 2040 means that we need strong emissions reductions by 2030. Without strong emissions reductions by 2030, risks of significant climate impacts – for people and for ecosystems – escalate as temperatures exceed 1.5° and then 2°C, even if warming can be brought back down below 2°C later on this century.
