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Australia has set a goal to cut emissions by between 62 per cent and 70 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels, as the Albanese government continues its strategy of modestly ambitious climate action over the next decade.
The 2035 target is an upgrade to the plan to cut greenhouse gases 43 per cent by 2030 and represents a major challenge to the government and the economy, given emissions have fallen 28 per cent in the two decades since 2005 and must fall a further 15 per cent in the next five years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, at the announcement of Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, countries are required to set increasingly ambitious targets every five years, and Australia is due to submit its goal before the United Nations’ next climate summit, known as COP30, to be hosted by Brazil in November.
This is viewed as a crucial move to boost Australia’s chances of delivering the government’s commitment to bring COP31 summit to Adelaide next year.
“Today I announce that we have accepted their advice that Australia’s 2035 missions target beat 62- 70 per cent,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as he unveiled the climate goal in Sydney on Thursday.
“This is a responsible target supported by science and a practical plan to get there and built on proven technology.
“It is the right target to protect our environment, to protect and advance our economy and jobs and to ensure that we act in our national interest and in the interest of this and future generations.
“We think we have a sweet spot that will be criticised by some who say it is too high, some who will say it is too low. What we have done is accept the Climate Change Authority’s advice,” Albanese said.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said climate action was an unprecedented economic opportunity for Australia.
“The global shift to clean energy is the biggest economic transformation since the industrial revolution,” Bowen said.
“If we make the right investments at the right time, we can grow our economy, create good jobs for Australians, and today the Albanese government decided to seize that opportunity.”
Environment and climate advocates wanted the government to commit to an emissions reduction of at least 75 per cent, declaring it the minimum requirement for Australia to do its fair share on global warming under the Paris Agreement.
Business and industry groups are split over the target, with some in mining and manufacturing sectors privately warning that the cost of achieving ambitious goals will be too high, while others like IKEA and Fortescue are publicly calling for ambitious commitments to drive investor confidence in clean technology. The government’s target falls in the middle of these expectations.
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The government faces a major challenge in reaching its 2035 target, as the bulk of emissions cuts for the second half of the decade will have to come from a range of sectors.
The vast majority of emissions reduction to date, and out until 2030, will be drawn from the electricity sector, where private investment has fuelled the replacement of Australia’s ageing coal-fired plants with wind and solar power.
Tony Wood, senior fellow at the independent Grattan Institute, said that Australia’s emissions must start to fall much more quickly for the next five years than they had for the previous two decades.
“To get to 2030, we have to reduce emissions by about 17 million tonnes a year, having been reducing them by between 6 and 10 million tonnes a year to date ... that’s a big step up,” Wood said.
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“A 65 per cent target for 2035 would mean that 17 million tonnes a year in cuts would become 27 million tonnes a year, and a 75 per cent target would be 39 million tonnes a year. That is getting really hard.”
Wood said that a carbon tax would be the most efficient and effective policy to drive emissions cuts across the country.
“It would be easier if we did have a single economy-wide climate policy, like a carbon price, but that’s been politically too difficult to do.”
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