UN urges Australia to lead world with climate goal

The Advertiser

4 days ago

The United Nations is ramping up pressure on Australia to pursue a more ambitious emissions reduction target, but the climate change minister insists a new goal must be "in the national interest".
UN executive secretary Simon Stiell has urged Australia to do more and cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035, following a meeting with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.
The federal government is targeting a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.
While Mr Bowen maintains Australia is on track to meet this and its clean energy goal, it is yet to release its 2035 target as required by the UN in coming months.
A more challenging target between 65 and 75 per cent by 2035 is being considered by the Climate Change Authority, which will advise the government.
But Mr Bowen stressed the government was already making significant efforts to decarbonise and create economic opportunity.
"Targets are easier set than met - we will set a target informed by the expert advice in the national interest," he said on Tuesday.
During the discussion, Mr Stiell said it was a privilege to be visiting a nation with the "smarts and the opportunity to lead and to reap colossal rewards".
He earlier maintained Australia must also tackle exported carbon emissions as part of a global push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Environmental groups have echoed the calls.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate and energy manager Gavan McFadzean noted Australia was the number two exporter of emissions in the world, pointing to the excavation of coal and gas as a major source of domestic emissions.
Setting an ambitious target has also been positioned as a moral test for the Labor government.
"Anything less than 75 per cent will be viewed as a crime against future generations," independent senator David Pocock told reporters in Canberra.
The opposition says the government hasn't worked through all the factors that go into reaching net-zero.
"You actually have to demonstrate that you've got a full understanding of what is required," opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan told reporters.
The coalition is yet to announce its climate plan as a sweeping post-election review of its entire policy suite continues.
But its support for a net-zero emissions target is being challenged by Nationals backbenchers, including Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack and Matt Canavan.
Senator Canavan and firebrand Liberal Alex Antic on Monday joined their One Nation colleagues to vote for the minor party's motion in the upper house to scrap net-zero.
But only five out of the coalition's 27 senators showed up for the motion after a text sent to a Liberal group chat said there was "no need to attend" the chamber for the vote.
Mr Bowen is poised to announce a 25 per cent expansion of Australia's Capacity Investment Scheme, which provides a guaranteed revenue floor for renewable generation and storage projects.
That means an extra three gigawatts of guaranteed generation - enough to power more than one million households - and a further five gigawatts of dispatchable capacity or storage, equivalent to supplying 4.6 million households with energy at peak times.
The scheme has unlocked record investment in Australia's energy grid in its three years of operation and has put Australia on track to reach its target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, Mr Bowen will say.
It has proved a hit with investors, with all six tenders massively oversubscribed - the most recent tender for dispatchable capacity, such as batteries and hydroelectricity, received 135GWh of bids compared to the 16GWh target.
The United Nations is ramping up pressure on Australia to pursue a more ambitious emissions reduction target, but the climate change minister insists a new goal must be "in the national interest".
UN executive secretary Simon Stiell has urged Australia to do more and cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035, following a meeting with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.
The federal government is targeting a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.
While Mr Bowen maintains Australia is on track to meet this and its clean energy goal, it is yet to release its 2035 target as required by the UN in coming months.
A more challenging target between 65 and 75 per cent by 2035 is being considered by the Climate Change Authority, which will advise the government.
But Mr Bowen stressed the government was already making significant efforts to decarbonise and create economic opportunity.
"Targets are easier set than met - we will set a target informed by the expert advice in the national interest," he said on Tuesday.
During the discussion, Mr Stiell said it was a privilege to be visiting a nation with the "smarts and the opportunity to lead and to reap colossal rewards".
He earlier maintained Australia must also tackle exported carbon emissions as part of a global push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Environmental groups have echoed the calls.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate and energy manager Gavan McFadzean noted Australia was the number two exporter of emissions in the world, pointing to the excavation of coal and gas as a major source of domestic emissions.
Setting an ambitious target has also been positioned as a moral test for the Labor government.
"Anything less than 75 per cent will be viewed as a crime against future generations," independent senator David Pocock told reporters in Canberra.
The opposition says the government hasn't worked through all the factors that go into reaching net-zero.
"You actually have to demonstrate that you've got a full understanding of what is required," opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan told reporters.
The coalition is yet to announce its climate plan as a sweeping post-election review of its entire policy suite continues.
But its support for a net-zero emissions target is being challenged by Nationals backbenchers, including Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack and Matt Canavan.
Senator Canavan and firebrand Liberal Alex Antic on Monday joined their One Nation colleagues to vote for the minor party's motion in the upper house to scrap net-zero.
But only five out of the coalition's 27 senators showed up for the motion after a text sent to a Liberal group chat said there was "no need to attend" the chamber for the vote.
Mr Bowen is poised to announce a 25 per cent expansion of Australia's Capacity Investment Scheme, which provides a guaranteed revenue floor for renewable generation and storage projects.
That means an extra three gigawatts of guaranteed generation - enough to power more than one million households - and a further five gigawatts of dispatchable capacity or storage, equivalent to supplying 4.6 million households with energy at peak times.
The scheme has unlocked record investment in Australia's energy grid in its three years of operation and has put Australia on track to reach its target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, Mr Bowen will say.
It has proved a hit with investors, with all six tenders massively oversubscribed - the most recent tender for dispatchable capacity, such as batteries and hydroelectricity, received 135GWh of bids compared to the 16GWh target.
The United Nations is ramping up pressure on Australia to pursue a more ambitious emissions reduction target, but the climate change minister insists a new goal must be "in the national interest".
UN executive secretary Simon Stiell has urged Australia to do more and cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035, following a meeting with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.
The federal government is targeting a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.
While Mr Bowen maintains Australia is on track to meet this and its clean energy goal, it is yet to release its 2035 target as required by the UN in coming months.
A more challenging target between 65 and 75 per cent by 2035 is being considered by the Climate Change Authority, which will advise the government.
But Mr Bowen stressed the government was already making significant efforts to decarbonise and create economic opportunity.
"Targets are easier set than met - we will set a target informed by the expert advice in the national interest," he said on Tuesday.
During the discussion, Mr Stiell said it was a privilege to be visiting a nation with the "smarts and the opportunity to lead and to reap colossal rewards".
He earlier maintained Australia must also tackle exported carbon emissions as part of a global push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Environmental groups have echoed the calls.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate and energy manager Gavan McFadzean noted Australia was the number two exporter of emissions in the world, pointing to the excavation of coal and gas as a major source of domestic emissions.
Setting an ambitious target has also been positioned as a moral test for the Labor government.
"Anything less than 75 per cent will be viewed as a crime against future generations," independent senator David Pocock told reporters in Canberra.
The opposition says the government hasn't worked through all the factors that go into reaching net-zero.
"You actually have to demonstrate that you've got a full understanding of what is required," opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan told reporters.
The coalition is yet to announce its climate plan as a sweeping post-election review of its entire policy suite continues.
But its support for a net-zero emissions target is being challenged by Nationals backbenchers, including Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack and Matt Canavan.
Senator Canavan and firebrand Liberal Alex Antic on Monday joined their One Nation colleagues to vote for the minor party's motion in the upper house to scrap net-zero.
But only five out of the coalition's 27 senators showed up for the motion after a text sent to a Liberal group chat said there was "no need to attend" the chamber for the vote.
Mr Bowen is poised to announce a 25 per cent expansion of Australia's Capacity Investment Scheme, which provides a guaranteed revenue floor for renewable generation and storage projects.
That means an extra three gigawatts of guaranteed generation - enough to power more than one million households - and a further five gigawatts of dispatchable capacity or storage, equivalent to supplying 4.6 million households with energy at peak times.
The scheme has unlocked record investment in Australia's energy grid in its three years of operation and has put Australia on track to reach its target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, Mr Bowen will say.
It has proved a hit with investors, with all six tenders massively oversubscribed - the most recent tender for dispatchable capacity, such as batteries and hydroelectricity, received 135GWh of bids compared to the 16GWh target.
The United Nations is ramping up pressure on Australia to pursue a more ambitious emissions reduction target, but the climate change minister insists a new goal must be "in the national interest".
UN executive secretary Simon Stiell has urged Australia to do more and cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035, following a meeting with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.
The federal government is targeting a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.
While Mr Bowen maintains Australia is on track to meet this and its clean energy goal, it is yet to release its 2035 target as required by the UN in coming months.
A more challenging target between 65 and 75 per cent by 2035 is being considered by the Climate Change Authority, which will advise the government.
But Mr Bowen stressed the government was already making significant efforts to decarbonise and create economic opportunity.
"Targets are easier set than met - we will set a target informed by the expert advice in the national interest," he said on Tuesday.
During the discussion, Mr Stiell said it was a privilege to be visiting a nation with the "smarts and the opportunity to lead and to reap colossal rewards".
He earlier maintained Australia must also tackle exported carbon emissions as part of a global push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Environmental groups have echoed the calls.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate and energy manager Gavan McFadzean noted Australia was the number two exporter of emissions in the world, pointing to the excavation of coal and gas as a major source of domestic emissions.
Setting an ambitious target has also been positioned as a moral test for the Labor government.
"Anything less than 75 per cent will be viewed as a crime against future generations," independent senator David Pocock told reporters in Canberra.
The opposition says the government hasn't worked through all the factors that go into reaching net-zero.
"You actually have to demonstrate that you've got a full understanding of what is required," opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan told reporters.
The coalition is yet to announce its climate plan as a sweeping post-election review of its entire policy suite continues.
But its support for a net-zero emissions target is being challenged by Nationals backbenchers, including Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack and Matt Canavan.
Senator Canavan and firebrand Liberal Alex Antic on Monday joined their One Nation colleagues to vote for the minor party's motion in the upper house to scrap net-zero.
But only five out of the coalition's 27 senators showed up for the motion after a text sent to a Liberal group chat said there was "no need to attend" the chamber for the vote.
Mr Bowen is poised to announce a 25 per cent expansion of Australia's Capacity Investment Scheme, which provides a guaranteed revenue floor for renewable generation and storage projects.
That means an extra three gigawatts of guaranteed generation - enough to power more than one million households - and a further five gigawatts of dispatchable capacity or storage, equivalent to supplying 4.6 million households with energy at peak times.
The scheme has unlocked record investment in Australia's energy grid in its three years of operation and has put Australia on track to reach its target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, Mr Bowen will say.
It has proved a hit with investors, with all six tenders massively oversubscribed - the most recent tender for dispatchable capacity, such as batteries and hydroelectricity, received 135GWh of bids compared to the 16GWh target.