Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskBattle lines shifted on September 8th, when the Climate Change Bill passed through the lower house of Australia’s parliament and into law. It is the country’s first legislation addressing carbon emissions in 11 years. Some advocates hope that Australia—one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel exporters, and a perpetual laggard on climate change—has turned a corner.
The stage was set for change by the elections in May. The Liberal and National parties had spent nine years arguing that cutting emissions would lead to job losses. Centre-right voters looked around at a country racked by fire and flood, then booted Liberals from their wealthy suburban heartlands and ushered in a new set of climate-friendly independents. Their numbers gave Labor and the Greens the parliamentary heft to push the climate bill through.
Labor’s bill has its limits. It does not shower money on renewable energy or electric vehicles—although the government says it will invest A$20bn to upgrade the electricity grid, so that more of the economy can abandon fossil fuels. Nor does it dictate the exact mechanisms by which emissions will be reduced.
Labor wants to tighten the scheme. It plans to set caps that would force big polluters to cut their emissions by 3.5-6% a year. Companies that emit less carbon could be awarded credits, creating a trading scheme for heavy industry. It wants the system up and running by next July.
time to kill our economy?
That's nice. And we won't make the target, so there's also that.
Oh yeah, let's hang ourselves!
Suicidal
Australia emits less than 'world transport'.
What about China? All of this is totally pointless without China’s buy-in.
Wow, didn't know that the air over Australia is its own space?!
What’s the alternative Windmills and solar panels all over Australia 🇦🇺 Nuclear
What will they sustain on, then? Australia is theBrazil of Asia.
is it gonna be too late?
Place your bets…given growth in earth killing /genocide exports ‘slashing’ 43% by 2005 standards. Amazon loss 25% up in recent years based on the smaller rainforest so 60-70% up on what’s left. A percentage is never fixed. All those valuable drugs still waiting to be found.
Exporting emissions.
The road Albanese has to walk politically is between the climate outcomes that increasing numbers of voters want and the industrial Union base of his party. Too far to the left and the mining workers will abandon them and too far right and they lose more ground to the Greens.
It’s quite easy to make promises not due until 2050. When that year finally arrives, we’ll be hearing either others before us made those promises or the science has changed or something along those lines.
Dream on..we would be all dead by then..
Thanks, because we all have to share this fishbowl together.
Slashing exports or emissions?
Let's see if Australians take this lying down as well as their Covid hysteria.... The WEF approves this move, Australia.
How? Is this realistic? Honest question.
The People’s Republic emits 30x more carbon than Australia. PRC emissions grew from 2017 to 2020 by 3x more than the amount of carbon that Australia emits in a single year.
If Humanity's organisations are truly serious about energy efficiency then, all future legislation and treaties on the subject should be based on Big Oil's E.R.O.E.I. calculation. It should be fundamental to all license legislation.
With the Russians and Chinese being the far far superior threat to humanity, the left is still pushing this nonsense that will distract the real efforts.
They missed a logo. The Economist. Formerly independent thinkers now a puppet mouth piece.
Aussies better wake the F up. Wokes are F’ing them.
Fake news. Stop encouraging the destruction of the economy ya twits. Shameful
Well, thank God, ‘cause I’ve been worrying about Australia.
Yeah but it won't make any difference to the climate
You who take pictures of everything and everyone, why don't you take pictures of the disaster in Iran? مهساامینی
won't make any difference
Laughter rambled through the emissions reductions like a sudden breeze😆
Keep lagging Australia
Clowns.
Australia has the highest penetration of roof top solar in the world, yet it’s a ‘laggard’? 🤷🏼
The planet has its own cycles and they are more powerful and determining than our insignificant actions. The planet needs to up and down temperatures. Humans are living in the short period of time the planet allows them to live. There's nothing we can do about it.
👍
Does this mean they stop exporting coal to China?
Tis about time ! Its took a Labour Gov't to achieve it. Says it all really as the conservatives are only keen on destroying the environment.
Australia Passes A Law to Reduce
They should pass a law to reduce emission of authoritarianism. It's leaking and spreading fast.
What for if Australia can use own resources?
Maybe they’ll burn wood now like we do in Europe
Which will do nothing. But hey, it makes ya feel good like wearing a mask 👍🤣
Australia does need to change. It needs scrap all of its “climate” laws: every last one.
As an American, I went to business school at MGSM in Sydney. I learned that Australians are very pragmatic. They know that their coal is in high demand (China doubled its of coal power plants). So, yeah, export it.
Bolsonaro is the best president of Brazil, that Brazil has ever had. The Economist lies a lot. Scoundrels!!
The environment keeps pounding away
people need to live, only Westerners and elites think the poor and working class should have to suffer energy poverty.
Green washing I suppose?!?
The ECommunist wants Australia to follow Germany and California down the drain and kill its economy and further impoverish its working class. I say Fvck 0ff