The world must urgently abandon fossil fuels to avert climate chaos, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned in its new landmark report, released overnight.
The IPCC's Mitigation of Climate Change report has found:
- Average annual greenhouse emissions are at the highest levels in human history - emissions are now 54% higher than they were in 1990.
- We are headed for a 14% increase in climate pollution by 2030, not the 45% cut required.
- Greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and can be nearly halved this decade to give the world a chance of limiting future warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
"The world's top climate scientists have made it crystal clear the era of coal and gas must end quickly," said ACF's Climate Change Program Manager Gavan McFadzean.
"Climate change is accelerating rapidly, while the world is responding at a snail's pace.
"As UN Secretary General António Guterres said, the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels. Sadly, Australia is one of those.
"Australia is already paying a high price for climate damage through devastating floods, droughts and increasingly ferocious bushfires.
"The bad news, in a nutshell, is the window for taking effective action is closing fast, but the good news is the solutions are open, achievable and readily affordable.
"The solutions are to replace coal and gas with clean energy and leave no one behind in the transition, make renewable-powered transport accessible to everyone, protect nature to store carbon naturally in the landscape and get fossil fuel money out of politics.
"There is absolutely no place for new or extended coal mines or gas projects in the third decade of the 21st century.
"Australia must not be distracted by pie-in-the-sky techno fantasies about sucking pollution out of the air and storing it underground.
"We must act now to cut pollution by more than half this decade using the energy and nature solutions that are available here and now."
