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https://theconversation.com/from-laggard-to-leader-why-australia-must-phase-out-fossil-fuel-exports-starting-now-219912>
"For years large fossil fuel producers — including Australia — have expanded
fossil fuel production while maintaining rhetorically that the world needs to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But global emissions are overwhelmingly caused
by the extraction, transport and burning of fossil fuels. Unless fossil fuels
are phased out, emissions will grow and the climate crisis will worsen.
At COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai, which wrapped up last week, this fact
finally became the centre of attention. And fossil fuel producers were feeling
the pressure — forced to defend their expansion of fossil fuels or change their
tune.
Interestingly, Australia seems to be doing the latter, at least rhetorically.
While successive governments have worked assiduously to keep fossil fuel
production out of the spotlight at the UN talks, Climate Change Minister Chris
Bowen said Australia supports the global phasing out of fossil fuels in energy
systems by 2050. Clearly eager to avoid being seen as the villain at the talks,
Bowen named Saudi Arabia as the main blocker to an agreement on phasing out
fossil fuels.
But the text of COP decisions matters much less than the actions states and
companies take. Australia — one of the world’s largest producers and exporters
of fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide — is fuelling the problem, not solving it.
Currently, Australian companies are moving to expand fossil fuel production:
more than 100 major coal, oil and gas projects are in planning, at a cost of
around A$200 billion. Some of these are “carbon bombs,” likely to add huge
quantities of emissions."
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
