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In fewer than five years, Australia has doubled the share of renewable electricity in our main grid and, today, more than 3.6 million Australian households have installed rooftop solar to reduce their power bills and slash climate pollution. 

Nowhere is our rapid shift towards an economy powered by renewable energy more visible than at the state and territory level, where governments, communities and households are leading the charge towards a cleaner, safer future for our kids. This transformation is dynamic, with different states and territories leading the way on different aspects. Most importantly, the collective result of these efforts is that we are well on the way to meeting Australia’s national climate pollution reduction target of 43% by 2030. 

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Let’s seize the decade to build a clean economy and cut Australia’s climate pollution 75% by 2030.

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The UAE is not the only nation adding fuel to the fire. Australia produces nearly twice the amount of fossil fuels that the UAE does. We export nearly three times’ as much fossil fuels (UNEP 2023a). At a time when the climate crisis is dramatically escalating – and coal, oil and gas need to be rapidly phased out – both countries are planning to increase fossil fuel production.

Find out what makes COP28 important – read the explainer here

Under the UN 2015 Paris Agreement, all countries agreed to work together to limit global warming to 1.5°C above the long term average. Plans by Australia and the UAE to increase fossil fuel production are utterly incompatible with this goal (UNEP 2023a).

Australia continues to fuel the climate crisis through its enormous fossil fuel exports. Australia is the world’s fifth largest overall producer of coal and seventh biggest producer of gas (UNEP 2023a). Most of this is not needed for our own energy needs, and is sold offshore. That’s why Australia is the world’s third largest fossil fuel exporter. Emissions from Australian coal and gas burned in other countries are more than double our domestic emissions (Climate Council 2022).

Phasing out coal, oil and gas is central to tackling the climate crisis. In October, the Climate Council surveyed a group of 30 leading climate and ocean scientists from six countries on their views on the current state of global climate action. Every single scientist surveyed (100%) said that global efforts to address the climate crisis are falling short, with a majority (60%) saying that today’s efforts are falling “catastrophically short” of what is required.

To limit global warming and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, governments worldwide need to stop expanding fossil fuel production and develop policy frameworks to manage a rapid phase out of coal, oil and gas. To be a successful host of COP31 in 2026 – in partnership with Pacific island countries – Australia needs to have stopped adding fuel to the fire by approving new coal and gas projects, and must be well on the way to phasing out fossil fuels.

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Our oceans are in trouble. As our climate changes, driven by the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, our seas are transforming before our eyes. Marine heatwaves are surging, coral reefs are on the brink, ice sheets are melting at an alarming rate, currents are slowing and seas are rising. Put simply: the climate crisis is an ocean crisis.

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The faster that we cut greenhouse gas emissions this decade – by phasing out fossil fuels – the better our future. Stronger action will limit harms; protecting more people and preserving the ecosystems that we depend on for our survival. Failing to do enough, quickly enough, could trigger changes in the Earth system that will overwhelm human societies. Every choice we make matters.

Read the report: Our future, our choice: How today’s climate choices will reshape Australia

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The IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, released in 2018, warned that allowing the planet to warm by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would have grave consequences.

The impacts that we are experiencing now at around a 1.2°C rise in average temperature are forerunners of rapidly escalating risks as global temperatures rise towards 2°C and beyond. Time is rapidly running out for humanity to avoid the extremely serious risks of a 2°C or warmer world. 

Every fraction of a degree of avoided warming matters, and will be measured in lives, species and ecosystems lost or saved. We must do everything possible to deeply and rapidly cut our emissions, while also preparing for climate impacts that can no longer be avoided.

Australia has everything it needs to act swiftly and decisively to help avert climate catastrophe and prosper in a global clean economy.

Catastrophic outcomes for humanity cannot be ruled out if we fail to meet the climate challenge this decade.

For an explainer on the most recent IPCC Synthesis Report, see here. 

Read more in our report, ‘Aim High, Go Fast: Why Emissions Need to Plummet This Decade’.

Click here to download the infographic

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The good news is zero emissions electric utes are on the way. The top selling ute for over four decades in major markets – the Ford F-150 – is now available in an all-electric version in the United States (US) and other markets.  A growing number of mainstream brands are ramping up production of zero emissions utes. These aren’t as widely available as zero emissions light passenger vehicles yet, but the technology is improving fast and more zero emissions utes are expected to become available in the next five years.

Read more in our new report: Ute Beauty! The case for lower and zero emissions utes in Australia

Download the infographic here

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• A longer fire season. Hotter conditions mean a longer fire season, leading to more dangerous bushfires and leaving less time for hazard reduction.
• Hotter temperatures. Australia is getting hotter, with more extreme hot days and longer, hotter heatwaves. These conditions are increasing the risk of bushfires in many areas.
• Drier vegetation & ‘fuel’. Hotter conditions and periods of low rainfall dry out soil and vegetation, increasing fire risk.
• More lightning. A warmer climate increases the chance of lightning, which is a key factor in starting fires.

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DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC

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