Friday, 29 Nov 2024

Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis

Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis


Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis
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But there is also evidence that action to combat the climate crisis is belatedly accelerating. Acknowledging that every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided makes a difference, here are some reasons for hope.

For all the talk that China is continuing to build coal-fired power plants, electricity generation from burning the dirty fuel was down by 4% in the first six months of the year. As with most types of infrastructure, the country is building more coal capacity than it needs.

A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) found more people are now employed in clean energy (which it defined as including renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency measures and nuclear power) than the fossil fuel industry. One small problem: clean energy jobs are not as well paid, in part because they are less likely to be unionised. But the argument that there are no jobs in clean energy has dissipated.

Clean energy investment has grown by 12% a year since 2020, in part due to the rise of public and private support for sustainable finance, especially in wealthy countries. Renewable energy, new grids and energy storage account for more than 80% of total power sector investment. The IEA estimates spending on solar, batteries and EVs is now growing at a rate consistent with reaching global net zero emissions by 2050.

There has been no agreement at UN climate talks on the rich paying up to help the developing world deal with the unavoidable loss and damage caused by global emissions, but the wealthy are finally moving to drive a clean energy transition in some of the countries that will matter.

After years of Australia being bracketed with Russia and Saudi Arabia as a global laggard, the Albanese government will win praise for its new 2030 emissions reduction target (a 43% cut compared with 2005) at the next major UN climate summit in Egypt in November.

But the Labor government can also expect questions. The most pertinent is likely to be the same one it is getting at home: will it really undermine its new commitment, and the global effort, by continuing to expand fossil fuel exports? It might need to develop a better answer.

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