Category: Australia News Brief and Action Alert

Australia—Falling Behind In 2015, Australia pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28% as part of a United Nation’s agreement presented at COP21 in Paris. In making its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the Paris Agreement, the Government said that, “Australia will continue to play our part in an effective global response...

Hydrofluorocarbon Phase-Down Policy In January 2018, Australia plans to adapt a policy that has it’s origins in the Montreal Protocol. The plan will phase-down the use and import of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).  This agreement calls for an 85% reduction of HFCs in developed nations between 2019 and 2036.  Australia has adapted a phase-down plan to meet...

Bleaching Event of the Great Barrier Reef Warmer water temperatures can result in coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s most iconic natural features, and...

Many major media outlets in Australia are skeptical of climate change and climate science in the majority of their coverage of the topic. Coverage in mainstream media can be presented in a way that leaves the subject open for debate, but rarely does it present information showing the consensus of the vast majority of the...

Regions/Provinces/States Canberra/ Australian Capital Territory (ACT)—The region containing the Australian capital of Canberra is one of two Australian signatories of the “Under 2 MOU” agreement, which brings together subnational governments to pledge to reduce GHG emissions in an effort to limit global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius. The pledge commits its signatories to...

Government Official Josh Freydenberg Minister of the Environment and Energy The current Minister for the Environment and Energy is Josh Frydenberg. He heads the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy and was also in attendance at COP22. He is a member of the Liberal Party which plans to double renewable energy production and increase...

Research Study:  Various studies on the Great Barrier Reef produced by Australia’s National Environmental Research Program (NERP) 2009-2014 The Great Barrier Reef is an iconic symbol of Australia and has been critical is garnering public support for environmental protections in Australia. One of the Wonders of the Natural World, the Great Barrier Reef encourages tourism...

Australia: The Emissions Reduction Fund There is still debate in Australia over how much the government should be involved in developing environmental policy. Under PM Julia Gillard, a Carbon Tax was introduced. The Carbon Tax was a mandatory tax applied to facilities that emit more than 25,000 MT CO2e scope I emissions annually with some...

How The Energy System Is Structured The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal. As of 2016, Federal energy policies continue to support the coal mining and...

Leading Emission Reduction Challenges: (a) Dependence on fossil fuels as energy sources, especially coal; (b) Political opposition to climate change legislationEmission Reduction Challenges Australia has a long history of coal mining, and many jobs are tied to the coal industry. This has created concern over the economic effects of moving toward cleaner energy sources. However...