Richie Merzian: One of the world’s biggest emitters is trying to fly under the radar // Greta Thunberg says school strikes have achieved nothing
Australia is the third biggest fossil fuel
exporter, has high emissions and plans to use a loophole to meet its pledges.
Don’t let them stay in the background.When it comes to
climate change, Australia really struggles. With high emissions, even higher
fossil fuel exports, harsh climate impacts (like the current unprecedented bush
fires) and weak climate action. Australia’s response is to just keep on digging
(literally – which is why it remains the world’s largest coal exporter). To
understand this disconnect you have go deeper into the land down
under.
From disbelief to dread: the dismal new routine of life in Sydney's smoke haze
(This is worth reading: please do so, to get an idea of what environmental catastrophe feels like)
Australia is the 14th largest
emitter of greenhouse gases out of the 196 parties to the Paris Agreement. But
apparently being in the top 10% doesn’t mean much to Australia’s prime minister
Scott Morrison, who claims Australia is ‘just’
1.3% of global emissions. Its astounding that the 182 other parties (including
smaller emitters like Cop President Chile, or host Spain, or incoming Cop
president the United Kingdom) even try. Australia emits more than 40 countries
with larger populations, so naturally at a per capita level it is right at the
top....
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/12/06/one-worlds-biggest-emitters-trying-fly-radar-cop25/
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/12/06/one-worlds-biggest-emitters-trying-fly-radar-cop25/
Greta Thunberg says school strikes have achieved nothing
The global wave of school strikes for the climate over the past year has “achieved nothing” because greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise, Greta Thunberg has told activists at UN climate talks in Madrid. Thousands of young people were expected to gather at the UN climate conference and in the streets of the Spanish capital on Friday to protest against the lack of progress in tackling the climate emergency, as officials from more than 190 countries wrangled over the niceties of wording in documents related to the Paris accord.
In the four years
since the landmark
agreement was signed, greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 4% and
the talks this year are not expected to produce new commitments on carbon from
the world’s biggest emitters. Thunberg, whose solo
protest in Sweden in 2017 has since snowballed into a global
movement, spoke at a press conference before a march through the centre of
Madrid. She said that although schoolchildren had been striking around the
world, this “has not translated into action” from governments....
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/06/greta-thunberg-says-school-strikes-have-achieved-nothing