Only Russia Surpasses Australia In Terms Of The Damage Its Fossil Fuel Exports Do To The Climate
Australia’s coal and gas exports cause more climate damage than those from any other country bar Russia, according to a new study that argues the country is undermining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. The analysis, commissioned by the University of New South Wales’ Australian Human Rights Institute, found Australia was the third biggest fossil fuel exporter on an energy basis in 2021, trailing only Russia and the US.
Australia ranked second on an emission basis. It overtook the US due to a majority of Australia’s exports being coal, a particularly emissions-intensive fuel. It meant that while Australia releases about only 1% of global emissions at home, it was linked to about 4.5% once its exports were counted.
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Dr Gillian Moon, the project lead of the Australian Human Rights Institute’s climate accountability project, said it was striking that emissions from Australia’s fossil fuels exports had been about 30bn of CO2 over the 63 years since 1961 and this was forecast to increase by 50% between now and 2035. She said the country was continuing on this path despite being more vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis than most other countries. “We have domestic [emissions reduction] targets, but nothing on our exports. We export 91% of our coal and about three-quarters of gas, and we have no plan to get off this trade,” she said. “The Australian public deserve to know the truth about this and the consequences for us.”
Moon said if Australia was serious about its climate commitments, it should be doing more to encourage countries that bought its fossil fuels – particularly the developed economies Japan, South Korea and Taiwan that take about two-thirds of its exports – to move more rapidly to renewable energy. She said it should be having similar discussions with like-minded fossil fuel exporters, such as Canada and Norway. She said it was striking that there was no discussion about fossil fuel production at global climate conferences held at the end of each year. “We have to have a conversation about how we’re going to deal with this,” she said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/12/australian-fossil-fuel-exports-ranked-second-globally-for-climate-damage-with-no-plan-for-reduction