Glasgow ?ratchet mechanism? could put more pressure on Australia - Sydney Morning Herald

Glasgow: Australia could be pressured to improve its 2030 emissions reduction target as soon as next year, according to a summary of negotiating points released by the presidency of the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow.

The document was released on Sunday morning as negotiators took a rest day after sessions continued late into the night during the first week of the talks, which are expected to conclude on Friday.

A key goal of the conference is to tighten global emission reductions by 2030, according to the document, which notes that”parties who have not yet submitted enhanced NDCs [Nationally Determined Contributions] are expected to do so in 2022″.

Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, which Australia signed in 2015, NDCs are voluntary emissions reductions goals which signatories are expected to formally submit to the UN’s climate body and then improve upon every five years. This is known as the “ratchet mechanism” and is designed to steadily increase reductions goals in the hope of stabilising the climate.

Before this meeting, Australia simply resubmitted the goal it first set in Paris of reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030. Nations such as the United States doubled their original goals.

Scientists say that to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the world must reduce emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030.

Australia’s low 2030 target has been a cause of significant criticism at COP.