Labor's climate turmoil
Donald Trump's return to the White House means it's even more likely Australia will hold off on announcing its 2035 emissions reduction target.
The chair of the Climate Change Authority, Matt Kean, declared on Thursday that Australia’s job in driving down emissions was “even more urgent” following Donald Trump’s election win.
But this doesn’t exactly reflect the deliberations that have been going on within Anthony Albanese’s government, and between the government and Kean’s agency, over the past few months.
For some time now, the Albanese government has been walking back its commitment to announce Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target by March next year. It was previously speculated that Labor was eyeing a reduction of between 65% and 75% of 2005 levels over that period.
But with the prospect of Trump pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, there is an acknowledgement within Labor that the impact of the world’s second-largest emitter vacating the space should be taken into account before settling on a new target. In light of Trump’s win, it also may not be politically advantageous to announce a new target this side of the federal election, which is due by May next year.
