Australia's capacity to address global heating

October 20, 2023

Peter Sainsbury has again collated a useful update on the current climate trajectory (Environment: On track for 2 degrees of warming within 20 years 15/10). Sharing both the ExxonMobil and the Global Climate Tracker trajectories was certainly educational. While ExxonMobil, who famously withheld knowledge about global heating from the general public, 46 years on, still thinks they can continue business as usual by promoting pipe-dream delay tactic non-solutions like carbon capture and storage and biofuels, Climate Tracker puts the worlds continued addiction to fossil fuels on notice. Although conservatives constantly exclaim that addressing Australias mere 1.3 per cent of the worlds emissions couldnt possibly make a difference, the image of our total 1207 MtC02e annual exported fossil fuel emissions, or 5 per cent of the global total, shows Australias huge capacity for change. Whether we can prevent 2 degrees of warming or not, we have a moral obligation to try.