MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) – Australia on Friday said it would meet its 2030 carbon emissions pledge under the Paris climate agreement without counting carbon credits.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Pacific Island climate forum the country was succeeding and even surpassing its global targets.
“Today I can announce that Australia is very confident that we will now achieve our 2030 targets without the need to draw on our carry over credits,” Morrison said at the virtual forum.
Australia’s emissions are now aiming at 29% below 2005 levels by 2030 in comparison to its Paris accord target of cutting carbon emissions by 26% to 28%, determined by the recent growth in renewable energy. It is what could be achieved under an A$18 billion ($13 billion) technology investment plan the government outlined in September.
The country had cautioned about using credits assigned to developed economies in 1997 under the Kyoto Protocol.
Morrison’s policy change, however, did not have the efficiency to get itself a speaking slot for the country at the UN Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, which is co-hosted by Britain, marking the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Morrison shrugged off the snub, saying that New Zealand, too, was not invited to speak at the London summit, which aims to push countries to upgrade their emissions-cutting pledges.
“So Australia’s policies, when it comes to reducing emissions, are set here in Australia, in Australia’s national interests,” Morrison told reporters.