(AU) Angus Taylor Has Never Asked Climate Change Authority To Model Zero Carbon Pathway

RenewEconomy - Michael Mazengarb

Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor

A key government climate advisory body has revealed that it has not been asked to prepare a plan for Australia to reach zero net emissions, raising fresh questions over the sincerity of the Morrison government claims to be committed to a zero emissions target.

The Climate Change Authority revealed on Wednesday that it had not received a request to develop a zero emissions plan by federal energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor.

The admission came when it appeared before a committee inquiry examining a Climate Change Bill proposed by independent MP Zali Steggall. That legislation would set into law a zero net emissions target for 2050, and would establish an independent commission, much like the CCA itself, to provide advice to the federal government on how to achieve it.

The CCA was established by the Gillard government as a source of expert advice, but since the election of the Coalition government in 2013, it has been largely stripped of its resources and staffing, although it is still required to undertake periodic reviews into a range of government climate change initiatives, and can be tasked with investigating special topics as directed by the government.

When asked by Steggall whether Taylor had asked the CCA to develop a pathway for Australia to reach zero net emissions, the authority’s CEO Brad Archer said that it had not.

“So, the minister has not requested of the Climate Change Authority to review or plan a net zero pathway?” Steggall queried.

“That’s correct,” Archer responded.

The CCA has previously undertaken reviews of the Emissions Reduction Fund and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme and is currently undertaking a review into a trade and investment strategy in a low emissions economy.

Its new revelation follows a similar concession by officials from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources who also said the department had not modelled a pathway to zero net emissions.

While many of Australia’s major trading partners have set a 2050 deadline to hit a zero emissions target, prime minister Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor have merely said that they wish to see Australia reach the target “as soon as possible”.

But revelations that neither the federal energy department nor a key government climate change advisory body has modelled what a pathway to zero net emissions may look like raises questions about the Morrison government’s commitment to reaching zero emissions.

Steggall told RenewEconomy that it was clear that the Morrison government was continuing to ignore experts when it comes to climate change.

“On the one hand, the Prime Minister says he wants to get to net zero as soon as possible, but on the other hand, his departments and agencies aren’t providing any advice or modelling on it. If we are serious, we need to get planning now,” Steggall said.

“The Government tells us it’s listening to the experts, but time and again, it is ignoring experts like the Climate Change Authority as we heard today. That is why I have proposed an empowered climate change commission in the Climate Change Bills. The powerful new commission will require the government to engage and respond to advice.

“We also heard that the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment are not costing climate impacts. The government talks a lot about costs, but how can the government claim action is expensive if it isn’t costing impacts? The Australian people deserve to know the true scale and price of the challenge in front of us,” Steggall added.

Links

• Climate Change Authority
• Climate Change Authority releases it 2020 review of the Emissions Reduction Fund
• Coalition ministers at odds over emissions target after Labor commits to net zero by 2050
• Angus Taylor says it is not Australian government policy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050
• Big business receives a net-zero emissions rocket from Angus Taylor
• Morrison government hasn’t yet modelled zero emissions pathway
• Independent MP Zali Steggall to propose climate change bill to parliament
• Independent MP Zali Steggall welcomes positive response to Climate Change Bill
• Climate Change Authority releases new report - Prospering in a low-emissions world: An updated climate policy toolkit for Australia

Invest In Low-Carbon Cities To Protect Climate And Boost Jobs, Governments Urged

World Economic Forum - Reuters, Anastasia Moloney

Public transport buses running with a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine are seen at a bus stand in New Delhi, India, November 18, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Key Points Cutting carbon emissions from energy, transport and construction in cities would bring jobs and savings, and curb climate change, a new report says. The Coalition for Urban Transitions has outlined preventative measures against climate change that governments and city leaders should prioritise. China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa are the six emerging economies which the report focuses on. Implementing such measures could bring $12 trillion in net benefits, based on cost savings alone, by 2050 and create millions of new jobs by 2030.

More COVID-19 recovery spending and public investment is needed for green transport and clean energy in cities, to create jobs, cut planet-heating emissions and limit the damage from climate change, U.N. officials and researchers said on Wednesday.

A report by the Coalition for Urban Transitions, a group of research organisations pushing for more sustainable cities, assessed climate-friendly measures governments and city leaders should prioritise in six emerging economies.

The report found that China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa - which account for a third of global GDP and about 40% of the world's urban population - could cut annual emissions in key urban sectors by up to 96% more than current plans by 2050, by investing in low-carbon initiatives.

Those include retrofitting old buildings to save on energy use, building new energy-efficient homes with rooftop solar panels, and ensuring affordable housing for the poor is connected to public transport.

Mobility must be made cleaner by expanding fleets of electric buses and adding walking and biking lanes, while cities should recycle more materials and waste, the report said.

Governments also need to help cities protect and restore peatland and mangrove ecosystems in and around them, to curb the risk of flooding and coastal storm surges, it added.

What's the World Economic Forum doing about the future of cities?

Cities represent humanity's greatest achievements - and greatest challenges. From inequality to air pollution, poorly designed cities are feeling the strain as 68% of humanity is predicted to live in urban areas by 2050.

The World Economic Forum supports a number of projects designed to make cities cleaner, greener and more inclusive.

Governments need to unlock the 'enormous potential' of cities to reduce carbon emissions. Image: Unsplash/Hakan Nural

These include hosting the Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization, which gathers bright ideas from around the world to inspire city leaders, and running the Future of Urban Development and Services initiative.

The latter focuses on how themes such as the circular economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution can be harnessed to create better cities.

To shed light on the housing crisis, the Forum has produced the report Making Affordable Housing a Reality in Cities.

Implementing such measures could bring $12 trillion in net benefits, based on cost savings alone, by 2050 and create millions of new jobs by 2030 - including 500,000 in Mexico, 8 million in India and 15 million in China, it said.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed told the online report launch that carbon-neutral, climate-resilient and inclusive cities are essential "to overcome the climate crisis".

Yet only 14% - $2 trillion - of total pandemic stimulus spent in the G20 and 10 other major economies has gone to the energy, transport and waste sectors where cities are best-positioned to implement low-carbon initiatives, the report said.

Less than a third, $544 billion, of that stimulus was green.

"It is time to do better," the report added.

U.N. scientists have said global emissions must fall by about 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels to give the world a good chance of limiting the rise in average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

"Unfortunately current commitments are nowhere near close to what is needed to achieve these targets," Mohammed said. "Carbon dioxide levels are at record highs and extreme wildfires, cyclones, floods and droughts are the new normal."

She urged governments to work with city leaders "to unlock the enormous potential in cities" to cut carbon emissions from energy, transport and construction.

U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa noted that cities in the six countries examined in the report produce about 40% of global emissions, but finance was lacking in such nations for low-carbon projects and helping residents, especially the poor, cope better with more extreme weather and rising seas.

By 2030, nearly 1 billion more people will be living in cities, and trillions of dollars will be invested in urban infrastructure, said top climate economist Nicholas Stern.

"Focusing on compact, connected and clean cities ... will be at the heart of achieving climate ambitions," said Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.



Links

• Report: National governments can reap $12 trillion in returns, create millions of new jobs, reduce emissions through low-carbon investments in cities
• Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow
• The path to a greener future begins in our cities
• How cities can lead the green recovery
• What a mile-deep soil sample can teach us about climate change
• Invest in low-carbon cities to protect climate and boost jobs, governments urged
• Sea levels are rising fastest in big cities – here’s why
• We asked more than 110 investors how they plan for the unexpected. Here’s what we found out
• Sub-Saharan Africa needs fair access to global carbon budget
• Met Office: Atmospheric CO2 now hitting 50% higher than pre-industrial levels
• What a mile-deep soil sample can teach us about climate change

(AU) Climate Action 100+ Investor Group Calls On The World's Biggest Polluters To Lift Their Game

ABC News - Sue Lannin

Emma Herd from the Investor Group on Climate Change says the world's biggest polluters need to do more and spend more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Points Climate Action 100+ represents the world's major investors No major corporation has put aside enough capital to meet UN climate goals Just 9 per cent of firms have targets to reduce supply chain emissions

The world's biggest investors have declared that the world's biggest polluters need to do more and, more particularly, spend more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to live up to public commitments to cut their carbon footprints.

The report by investor coalition Climate Action 100+ is the group's first assessment of company performance on climate change.

Climate Action 100+ is made up of 575 investors who have $US54 trillion in assets under management, including some of the world's biggest investment houses like BlackRock and State Street.

A total of 159 companies were assessed on nine measures linked to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, including whether they were on track to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and whether they had allocated enough capital to achieve their goals.

It found that none of firms surveyed had committed enough investment to meet the goals of the United Nations climate change treaty to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

Only six companies partially met the capital allocation criteria, including oil giants BP and Total, and consumer goods multinational Unilever.

The report said the finding showed a "huge gap in corporate reporting on climate risk management."

Just over half of the companies surveyed (83) had publicly announced a net zero carbon emissions goal by 2050, but just 9 per cent had targets to reduce most emissions in their supply chain, known as Scope 3 emissions.

The report found that fewer than one-in-five firms had a clear strategy for decarbonisation.

European companies performed the best in terms of setting net zero targets by 2050, with Australian firms second.

Firms in emerging economies, where economic conditions are challenging, struggled to meet climate targets.

Only three Australian firms have 'clear' zero emissions plans

Twelve Australian companies were assessed, including BHP, Rio Tinto, AGL, Woolworths and Qantas.

The report found that, on average, Australian companies satisfied just over one-in-three indicators, although local firms had the best disclosure.

Ten years ago one man's plan blew apart Australia's two great parties irrevocably just as they teetered toward consensus on climate change, the most divisive issue of the Australian political century. Read more...

Only three out of the 12 Australian firms — BHP, Rio Tinto and Santos — had a clear strategy to meet their goals of net zero emissions by 2050.

Despite public commitments by firms, including the big miners, to reduce their pollution levels and help their customers cut their carbon emissions, no Australian companies were judged to be spending enough to meet their targets.

Emma Herd from the Investor Group on Climate Change, which co-ordinates Climate Action 100+ in Australia, said the results were a mixed bag, with not enough firms putting in place measures such as linking executive pay to climate goals.

"What we're not seeing enough of is the detailed plans and the capital allocation," Ms Herd told the ABC.

"The ambition is great but the detail to implementation would be better."

Ms Herd said investors would continue to pressure big polluters, including at annual general meetings, to force change.

"It's not that surprising that many of these companies, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters in the most hard-to-abate industry sectors are not satisfying all these areas of performance," she said.

"But definitely what investors are saying is we expect you to be able to meet these parameters of performance and we will be engaging with you to look at how you are improving your performance."

BHP outranked Rio Tinto in terms of climate change performance, but both firms were assessed as not allocating enough money to deliver on their promises.

Many in the Hunter Valley realise coal's days as the region's major export are numbered, and they're already working on what comes next. Read more...

Last week Rio agreed to endorse shareholder resolutions to set targets for cutting carbon emissions.

Australian Super manages $200 billion in pension funds and is a member of Climate Action.

Australian Super's environmental, social and governance director Andrew Gray said that Rio Tinto was assessed strongly because of an improvement in its approach to climate change, but he warned that "diversified mining companies will need to continue to develop and refine their approach on a number of key issues."

Qantas did not meet five of the assessed criteria, including an inadequate decarbonisation strategy and climate policy engagement.

The airline joined the Climate Action coalition in December last year and said it fully recognised the importance of lowering emissions.

"We were one of the first airlines to commit to being carbon neutral by 2050," Qantas said in a statement.

"We also have one of the largest carbon offsetting programs of any airline."

Mr Gray said the progress of Qantas on climate change was hampered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global aviation.

Woodside Petroleum was judged not to meet the criteria on its decarbonisation strategy and capital allocation alignment.

The oil and gas producer said it would continue to engage directly with shareholders on its climate-related strategy and disclosures, and with Climate Action.

"LNG suppliers will have to earn their place by being increasingly low carbon and cost competitive," a Woodside spokesperson said.

"That's why our aspiration is to be net zero from operations by 2050 or sooner."

Links

• Climate Action 100+
• Climate Action 100+ issues its first-ever net zero company benchmark of the world’s largest corporate emitters
• Climate Action 100+ Investors to Raise Corporate Climate Ambition for 2021 Proxy Season
• Paris Agreement 5 Years On: Reasons for Optimism
• Climate Action 100+ progress report records accelerated company commitments to net-zero emissions but gaps remain
• Major US investors call on largest corporate emitters to disclose how their climate lobbying aligns with climate science
• Climate Action 100+ calls for net-zero business strategies & sets out benchmark of largest corporate emitters
• Investors welcome new BHP industry association and climate policy standards