19 August 2021 | Australia –
BIDEN’S DEPUTY CLIMATE CHIEF CALLS FOR “MORE AMBITIOUS EFFORT” FROM AUSTRALIA
At the Better Futures Forum this morning, Johnathan Pershing, US deputy special presidential envoy on climate and 2IC to Biden Climate envoy John Kerry gave a keynote interview.
Pershing said, to keep warming to 1.5 degrees, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us we have 400 gigatons of carbon budget to go, and we are currently at about 40 per year, which means that we’ve got about 10 years. Unless we reduce emissions sharply we’re not in the right place. And by sharply, the IPCC again suggests a trajectory, a pathway … We should be at about a 45% … reduction by the year 2030 as a global matter.
“We’ve seen some countries pledging to move more quickly. I would argue that the United Kingdom is way ahead of the curve in terms of its commitment and its pledge at 68% reduction, others like the European Union have a 55% reduction and the States announced that 50 to 52% reduction. So clearly, those are in the right ballpark, but others are not yet achieving those kinds of levels.”
On Australia’s target of a 26-28% reduction on 2005 levels by 2030, Pershing said:
“Those numbers I think have now been overtaken by events, I think most recently the IPCC suggests that we need a much more aggressive total from all nations. It would be helpful to see Australia step forward with a more ambitious effort.”
“In rooftop solar, it’s among the leaders in the world if not the leader in the world, in other dimensions, it’s not doing so well. What is the dynamic for increased and continued export of coal? We see that driving an emissions trajectory.”
“These transitions will require a significant commitment from government, from civil society, from the framing of economic development. … If we don’t start those decisions and start those processes, I think we will fall short of the commitment.”
“Australia is one of the wealthier countries in the world, its emissions are at about 1% of the global total, but at 1%, it falls into nearly the top 20 of national emitters. There are hundreds and hundreds with much smaller shares. If a wealthy country like Australia is unable to move forward, it’s very hard for poor nations to think how they might do it. The example that we all set for each other I think is critical. And what we can deliver in that context matters…The science is telling us that the pathway has got to be more aggressive than the one that we’ve seen collectively set so far.”
Pershing continued, “China’s moving aggressively to a deep decarbonisation plan. If Australia wants to sell into that economy, they’ll have to sell something different. So how does that work? I think those are choices that Australia can make and can make in ways that would benefit it economically.”
Notes for Editors
The Better Futures Forum, concluding today, is the flagship event of Better Futures Australia (BFA), a network of hundreds of climate champions, ambassadors and partners representing seven million Australians from every sector of society and the economy, and over $218 billion in economic activity. More details here.
These leaders are demonstrating scalable climate solutions as they collectively urge the Federal Government to set emissions targets in line with our Paris Agreement obligations, the States and Territories, and our major trading partners and international allies. This requires Australia to at least halve emissions by 2030, if we are to have any chance of reaching net zero by 2050.
The Better Futures Forum was opened on Tuesday by Ban Ki-Moon and Matt Kean.
Keynote and other speakers at the Better Futures Forum later today include:
Alok Sharma, President, COP26, the UN Climate Summit, Glasgow, November
Mayor Susan Aitkin – City of Glasgow
Chris Bowen, Shadow Federal Environment Minister
Dr Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Team Leader, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organisation
Cathy Eatock, co-chair, Indigenous Peoples Organisation (peak body for 285 ATSI organisations).
Jess Scully – Deputy Mayor, City of Sydney
Forum program here.
