December 12, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Climate Change Ambition Summit hosted by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and France and co-joined by more than 70 heads of state around the world was held online.
Australia, an important ally of Britain, lost its voice at the summit because it failed to fulfill its commitments under the Paris agreement and lacked ambition to plan for the future.
According to the BBC, Australia has not complied with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, and its performance in combating climate change can be said to be unqualified.
Australia, with only more than 20 million people, emits 3.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On a per capita basis, Australians’ carbon dioxide emissions are four times that of the United States.
The report said that in the past five years, Australia’s gap in reducing carbon emissions and other countries has widened. In recent years, Australia has experienced a series of devastating wildfires, which have had a great negative impact on climate change, and Prime Minister Morrison has been widely criticized by the international community.
At the Paris Climate Conference, Australia promised to reduce its carbon emissions by 26% to 28% compared with 2005 levels by 2030. Forecasts at the end of last year show that Australia’s carbon emissions will be only 16% lower than the 2005 level by 2030.
This year’s report of the United Nations on the carbon emission gap said that Australia is currently not expected to meet his previous commitments. That goal would not have been difficult to achieve.
Why did Australia perform so poorly? From a micro-policy perspective, Australia does not have industry standards for the electric vehicle and automobile manufacturing industry. In the OECD, Australia is also the only country that does not have fuel efficiency standards, and various industry standards related to climate change are missing.
British media also noted that the dispute with China threatened Australia’s coal exports, and the election defeat of US President Trump made Australia lose its “climate ally” and appeared alone in the international community.
Commenting on Australia’s performance on climate change, the British Guardian said that the countries participating in the summit must provide substantive commitments at the summit, and the seats for the summit are only available to those who set emission reduction targets for the next decade, declare zero emissions, provide funds for developing countries or set ambitions to address climate change. Aspiring leader. Obviously, neither historical performance nor future prospects are eligible for Australia to speak.
