The President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC, has welcomed the Government's annual climate statement published today calling for urgent, ambitious action to increase emissions reductions to reduce global warming and meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.
Professor Jagadish said the Climate Change Authority's annual progress report found that Australia's emissions are declining too slowly and that faster, coordinated action is needed across all sectors.
"The Global Carbon Budget shows that time is up for 1.5°C. Today, Minister Bowen noted in his speech to federal Parliament that based on global emissions, we will still see warming of 2.8°C," said Professor Jagadish.
Above 1.5°C of warming, Australia faces much greater climate risks and economic consequences. These impacts include more frequent and severe extreme weather events like floods, fires and cyclones that will contribute to the cost of living, placing further stress on household budgets.
Professor Jagadish urged the Minister to read the Academy's report The risks to Australia of a 3°C warmer world.
"It paints a picture of what our world will be like to live in when average global surface temperatures reach 3°C, which is expected in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren.
"We need to be able to look the next generation in the eyes and say we're on track to leave you a world that is liveable.
"We are making progress with emissions reductions, but the Climate Change Authority's projections show that we need to triple our current pace of emissions reduction to reach the ambitious edge of the 2035 emissions target.
"A net zero emissions outcome by 2050 is possible for Australia without compromising economic prosperity," said Professor Jagadish.
"The Academy supports the Government's focus on renewables and their goal to make Australia a global destination for clean energy investment.
"Now is the time to invest in science and innovation to develop the technologies we need to enhance our climate modelling and understanding, accelerate the energy transition, reduce emissions and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and prepare our communities and environment to adapt to climate change impacts.
"We must rise to the challenges presented by overwhelming scientific evidence and not only reduce future emissions but also deal with runaway emissions that are already locked into the atmosphere, making some warming inevitable."
