Feature
Vulnerability
26
How our climate and energy policies may be written by a rising tide of global climate commitments.
by Sacha Shaw
Australian Climate Policy dragged kicking and screaming.
Two events have captured international imaginations and headlines: China's announcement at the United Nations General Assembly that the country will be carbon neutral by 2060 and President Joe Biden's announcement that commits the United States to net-zero emissions by 2050. As the two biggest global economies, these declarations are significant. Australians ought to be paying attention. The US may be a significant and strategic ally, but Biden’s commitment is more the cherry on top of this wake-up call for Australia. Though it is bound to impact Australian markets, this policy shift signals more of a cultural and normative pressure. However, China has leveraged its economic influence on the Australian export market. Their latest move has been to ban all Australian coal imports, marking a significant opportunity for Australia to reconsider its dependence on coal. Other nation-states are also putting ink to paper and pledging net-zero emissions and carbon neutrality by 2050; and that list boasts some significant players, from Japan and Korea to the European Union. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union Addressi, called for a carbon border adjustment mechanism, saying: "Carbon must have its price – because nature cannot pay the price anymore. This Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism should motivate foreign producers and EU importers to reduce their carbon emissions while ensuring that we level the playing field in a WTOcompatible way." Pricing carbon will disincentivise heavy emitting industries, instead favouring sectors and production processes that pollute less. This shift is also being reflected in global markets too. More and more companies are making pledges to decarbonise their operations. General Motors recently announced that they will be carbon neutral by 2040 and Apple has promised to be carbon neutral by 2030.
SOURCE: Curioso_Photography @ Pixabay
Sacha Shaw
