Brisbane [Australia], October 26 (ANI): Australia on Tuesday set 2050 net-zero emissions target in the run-up to the UN Climate Conference, COP26, starting in Glasgow at the end of this week. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australians wanted a strategy that “does the right thing on climate change and secures their future in a changing world”, reported Bangkok Post.
However, coal-rich Australia shied away from setting more ambitious goals ahead of a landmark UN climate summit. Widely seen as a climate laggard, Australia is one of the world’s largest coal and gas exporters and its conservative government has resisted climate action for most of its eight-year term, reported Bangkok Post.
Morrison refused to strengthen 2030 emissions reduction targets seen as crucial for meaningful climate change action while vowing to work to keep mines operating for as long as possible.
“We want our heavy industries, like mining, to stay open, remain competitive and adapt, so they remain viable for as long as global demand allows,” he wrote in an opinion article released by his office.
Australia has previously agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, a target Morrison has claimed the country will “meet and beat”, reported Bangkok Post. The announcement comes just days before Morrison departs for next month’s United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Australia‘s reluctance to act had been criticised by close allies such as the United States and Britain, as well as Pacific island neighbours that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, reported Bangkok Post.
The country’s greatest natural tourist drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef, has been badly damaged by waves of mass coral bleaching as ocean temperatures rise. Ahead of the 12-day Glasgow summit, the UN says more than 130 countries have set or are considering a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, a target it says is “imperative” to safeguard a liveable climate. COP-26 is being held from October 31, 2021 to November 12, 2021 under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy.
UN chief calls for China’s commitment to ‘ambitious’ climate goals
New York [US], October 26 (ANI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on China to present an “ambitious” nationally determined contribution in the run-up to the UN Climate Conference, COP26, starting in Glasgow at the end of this week.
Antonio Guterres commended the country’s decision to end financing of coal-fired power plants abroad, and direct support for green and low carbon energy production, stating that the world “must do everything possible to keep the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement alive.”
Guterres also said the UN also fully supports the Chinese presidency of the COP15 Biodiversity Conference, happening in Kunming from April 25- May 8 of next year. For him, “ambition on biodiversity and climate are mutually reinforcing.”
“Both in Glasgow and Kunming, we must do our part to make peace with nature and safeguard our planet for future generations”, he added.
For the Secretary-General, in the decades since, the country “has become an increasingly important contributor to the work of the Organization and a major pillar of international cooperation.”
He thanked China for its role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the “significant progress” to eradicate poverty in all forms. “China‘s achievements provide valuable lessons in poverty alleviation that are being shared with other countries through South-South Cooperation”, he said.
Despite this progress, he said the world “faces a torrent of tests”, such as rising inequality, climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, multiplication of conflicts, and human rights under threat. “We need to come together to bridge great divides and solve our challenges through enhanced international cooperation”, he said.
For Guterres, this includes strengthening the multilateral system, as detailed in his report to the General Assembly Our Common Agenda, containing 90 specific proposals.
Calling China a “steady partner” of the Organization, the Secretary-General reminded that the country is the second-largest contributor to the regular and peacekeeping budgets.
He also highlighted the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, saying the UN counts on China to play an “essential role” by stepping up efforts to make vaccines a global public good.
Guterres also recalled that China had hosted the conference which approved the most comprehensive global action plan for gender equality, resulting in the Beijing Declaration. “Securing women’s equality and full representation must be central to peace and development”, he concluded. (ANI)
