Australia has announced its net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
PM Scott Morrison also underscored that the country would continue to rely on fossil fuels and projects designed to offset planet-warming pollution.
“We will set a target to achieve net-zero by 2050, and have a clear plan for achieving it,” Morrison said.
The Australian government will stay within its 2030 goals but refuse to put the target into law as other countries have done.
Morrison elaborated that the country will cut as much as 35% by 2030 from 2005 levels compared with the official commitment for a 26-28% reduction.
He added that under the plan, new coal-fired power stations could still potentially be built as coal is essential for Australia’s electricity generation. The country would also take no action to pursue a methane target.
Critics said that the goals are too weak.
Bill Hare of Climate Analytics commented that Morrison’s plan changes nothing in Australia’s policy settings. It would go along with the government’s current strategy of replacing coal with subsidized natural gas. Morrison’s plan would only reduce emissions by 65% to 73% by 2050 while the additional savings delivered through land sector sequestration & targeted purchases of international offsets would reach an 85% cut.
Hare added that the plan, which heavily relies on technologies such as carbon capture and storage, would enable Australia to continue burning fossil fuels, but are still too expensive to be rolled out widely.
Another critic, Rebecca Mikula-Wright of the Investor Group on Climate Change, stated, “Australia not updating its 2030 target in line with commitments under the Paris Agreements is of deep concern to investors.”
