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Fossil fuel exports make Australia one of the worst contributors to climate crisis
(The Guardian, 7 Jul 2019) Australia looking to become an emissions superpower, the Australian Conservation Foundation says.
Australia is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and could be contributing as much as 17% by 2030 if the pollution from its fossil fuel exports is factored in, research says.
Under climate accounting rules that record carbon dioxide released within a country, Australia is responsible for about 1.4% of global emissions. The analysis by science and policy institute Climate Analytics found more than twice that, another 3.6%, are a result of Australia’s coal, oil and gas exports.
If all proposed fossil fuel developments went ahead, including Adani’s Carmichael mine, other proposed coal developments in the Galilee Basin and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Western Australia, and other countries adopted policies consistent with the Paris agreement, Australia could be linked to up to 17% of carbon pollution.
The Australian Conservation Foundation, which commissioned the research, said this scenario showed Australia was on a path to being one of the worst contributors to a climate emergency.
“Australia is now the number one exporter of both coal and gas and we are scheduled to push that off the charts in the next 10 years. We are looking to become an emissions super-power,” the foundation’s Gavan McFadzean said. “We are fortunate to have many of our emissions counted elsewhere but that doesn’t mean we’re not responsible for them.”
The Guardian, 7 Jul 2019: Fossil fuel exports make Australia one of the worst contributors to climate crisis
