POLICY

Australia in the spotlight in the leadup to COP26

PRESSURE continues to mount on the Morrison government to take more ambitious emission reduction targets to the upcoming COP26 climate talks in November, with the Investor Group on Climate Change arguing the positive economic benefits would outweigh the negatives.

Australia prime minister Scott Morrison

Australia prime minister Scott Morrison

The IGCC released a statement on Tuesday from a record 587 investors with US$46 trillion in assets under management, alongside the world's leading scientists urging Australia and the rest of the world to do more. 

The statement includes five priority policy actions that they say would allow investors to commit the trillions of dollars needed to respond to the climate crisis. 

They include strengthening 2030 emissions reduction targets, commitments to clear domestic mid-century net zero targets, ending fossil fuel subsidies and phasing out thermal coal. 

"While we recognise the differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities of countries, we believe that those who set ambitious targets in line with achieving net-zero emissions, and implement consistent national climate policies in the short-to-medium term, will become increasingly attractive investment destinations," the statement reads. 

"Countries that fail to do so will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage."

Australia is being referred to as a pariah state on climate and energy policy, as governmental leaders and policymakers become increasingly vocal in their frustration at the country's inaction in the lead up to Glasgow. 

"Of all the developed countries, Australia has the poorest standing on climate," European Parliament Dutch Member Bas Eickhout told CNN in a feature that led the progressive site's international edition. 

"It's clear that Australia will just be absent, basically, from the talks."

Meanwhile, former OECD director Adrian Blundell-Wignall said that Australia and its companies needed to take action to reduce the scope 3 emissions from its exports - the largest part of Australia's carbon footprint. 

He said if Australia included scope 3 emissions in its reporting it would be responsible for 9.4% of the world's emissions, as opposed to the 1.15% that it reports today. 

"This sheeting of supply chain responsibility to the home country, of course, is not going to happen. But these back of the envelope calculations illustrate the magnitude of the responsibility that Australia wishes to disown," he wrote in the AFR today.

"It is a case of ‘please take our products and if you choose to use them, well, then it is nothing to do with us'."

IGCC CEO Rebecca Mikula-Wright said strong climate policies in Australia could create around US$46 billion in fresh investment opportunities by 2025. 

"By working with investors to put in place robust policies, strong targets and a clear roadmap to reach net-zero emissions, Asian, Australian and New Zealand governments can unlock these enormous investment opportunities and the jobs, economic growth and competitive advantage they will bring."

The Morrison government has maintained that its 26-28% 2030 emissions reduction target is adequate, describing it as a floor and not a ceiling, but has yet to commit to a net zero emissions target by 2050.

Meanwhile major trading partners Japan, South Korea and China have committed to net-zero by 2050-2060, while major allies the UK and US pursue large 2030 emission reduction cuts.

Last week however the UK's government attracted criticism after leaked documents revealed it had bowed to pressure from Australia to remove all references to climate and energy policy from a proposed free-trade agreement.

"Well, it was about trade. It wasn't a climate agreement, it was a trade agreement. And ... in trade agreements, I deal with trade issues. In climate agreements, I deal with climate issues," prime minister Scott Morrison told a press conference on Thursday.  

According to the government, Australia has invested over A$35 billion in renewables since 2017, and in 2020 deployed new wind and solar PV at 8.5 times the global per capita average.

Wood Mackenzie analysis released earlier this month noted policy decisions made at the upcoming talks in Glasgow would determine the remaining value to be yielded from the upstream energy sector, as lawmakers seek to determine the pace of the energy transition. 

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

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