<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/01/over-20-bn-tonnes-of-co2-could-be-emitted-if-australian-fossil-fuel-projects-up-for-approval-go-ahead>
"The Australian government will face decisions on whether to greenlight 30
fossil fuel developments, mostly to export coal or gas, that together could
result in more than 20bn tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the
atmosphere.
Climate groups have calculated the potential total climate pollution from
fossil fuel developments currently submitted for environmental approval.
Including emissions released both during production and when the fossil fuel
was ultimately burned for energy – often in overseas power plants – they found
the developments could lead to an additional 22bn tonnes of CO₂ being pumped
into the atmosphere.
This is about 10 times greater than estimates of Australia’s remaining 1.5C
“carbon budget” – the total amount the country can release at home in the years
ahead if it is to play its part in limiting heating to the global goal of 1.5C.
Expressed another way, it is about 40% of annual global emissions.
Because the CO₂ would be released overseas if the developments go ahead, most
of the emissions would not count against Australia under international climate
accounting rules. But campaigners say it shows the impact of the country’s
exports is likely to dwarf the emissions reductions being embarked on at home,
and the government cannot claim to be addressing the climate crisis without
addressing both."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
