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Interactive Policy Experience

The decade that decides.

Australia ranks 55th in the world on climate performance, with a 2030 projection well short of what its own Climate Change Authority called for. Our plan commits to at least a 55% cut by 2030 — and publishes the pathway to get there.

Environment & ClimateAction on Climate Change

55thAustralia’s world climate rankingBelow the USA and China on the Climate Change Performance Index.
32–42%Where current projections landAgainst 2005 levels — short of the government’s own authority’s 45–65% advice.
55%Our 2030 commitment (at least)With decarbonisation plans published this decade, not deferred to 2050.
4Sectors with the biggest footprintsElectricity, transport, stationary energy and agriculture — targeted first.

Pick the 2030 target

Slide the ambition and see where it lands against the projections and the science.

Ranges from the CCPI, government projections and the Climate Change Authority’s 2015 advice.

The plan at a glance

At least 55% by 2030

A science-aligned target with the trajectory defined now, for this decade.

Publish the plan

Sector-by-sector decarbonisation pathways in public — no more net-zero by press release.

Electrify everything

Heating, cooking, cars and industrial processes — off gas, onto clean power.

A managed exit from fossil fuels

Plan the transition for the heaviest-emitting sectors and the communities that work in them.

Two trajectories

Same country, same decade — different choices.

Drift — current settings

  • 32–42% by 2030 and 55th in the world
  • Plans deferred toward a distant 2050
  • Fossil transition left to markets and luck
  • Communities hit by change nobody planned for

Drive — our plan

  • At least 55% by 2030, published pathway included
  • Deep decarbonisation mapped this decade
  • Electrify everything, sector by sector
  • A just, planned transition people can bank on

The full policy

Word for word — the platform as our members wrote it.

The Issues

The world must change its approach to energy, recognise the limit to endless growth, and find a sustainable balance with nature, or we will suffer the worst consequences of climate change. We must electrify energy and fundamentally change our lifestyle.

A federal government plan is essential to reach net-zero by 2050. Action must be decisive and the trajectory clearly defined for the next 10 years. Australia still ranks an appalling 55th in the Climate Change Performance Index – below USA and China.

Current government projections are for a 32-42% reduction in emissions by 2030 on 2005 levels. Targets put up by the government’s own Climate Change Authority in 2015 were to reduce emissions by 45-65%. The report Pathways to Deep Decarbonisation in 2050 shows that this is achievable if government drives the transition.

Our Plan

  • Commit to reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

  • Develop and publish plans for decarbonising this decade, not wait until 2050.

  • Plan the transition away from fossil fuels, targeting the areas with the biggest emission footprints – electricity, transport, stationary energy (including homes and offices), and agriculture.

  • Electrify everything – or as much as possible! (heating, cooking, cars, industrial processes).

  • Provide transport alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles, including enhanced regional rail links and non-car transport links in cities. Move to renewable fuels where appropriate.

  • Support Australia’s clean energy manufacturing supply chains ensuring appropriate protections and equitable participation for indigenous owners.

  • Take a key role in planning and regulating new renewable infrastructure so it is timely, orderly and evidence-informed.

  • Price carbon at $30/tonne, and increase this in line with our key trading partners

  • Stop subsidising the fossil fuel industry and stop authorising new coal and gas mines

  • Ensure the burdens and benefits for people, the economy, and the environment are transparent, properly considered, and fairly shared.

  • Make Australia self-sufficient in renewables and a leading renewables exporter.

The Evidence

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report published in 2023 found that average global temperatures in 2011-2020 were 1.1 degrees higher than in the second half of the 1800s, as a result of human-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Looking forward, the IPCC report shows five future emissions scenarios, with the range of scenarios resulting in warming outcomes of between +1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels in the very low case and +5 degrees in the very high case.

— Source: IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, 2023

Analysis by Climate Action Tracker projects that under current policies the world is heading for warming of 2.7°C by 2100, which is nearest to the IPCC’s ‘intermediate’ scenario. This result would be well above the target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep warming “well below 2°C”.

Many nations other than Australia are taking action to reduce and phase out the use of fossil fuels. As a wealthy, developed country, Australia can and should be a leader in the energy transition. Moreover, we have the wealth of renewable energy resources (sun and wind) and critical minerals to be a major beneficiary of the energy transition.

Despite this, as one of the worlds largest exporters of fossil fuels, vested interests and the fossil fuel lobby have held back progress in orienting Australia towards a clean energy future. This is why it is so important to keep the bastards in power honest and demand that government acts.

References

  • Sources and further reading will be listed here.

Make it happen.

Policies like this only become law when enough people push. Push with us.

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