Australia Parliament House Inquiry Submission The Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation and Mitigation) Bill 2020 and Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation and Mitigation) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2020 Objectives and importance of long-term emissions reduction commitment The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has in late 2018 published a report saying that 'say urgent and unprecedented changes are needed' to reach 'the most ambitious end of the Paris agreement pledge to keep temperatures between 1.5C and 2C', which they say 'is affordable and feasible'. 1 It also noted there was a relatively short window of 12 years to act, which brings it to 10 years now at time of writing. The worst impacts of climate change and rising temperatures have been outlined by climate scientists many times over, and even the Paris agreement's own authors offer us two visions for how the world might look in 2050. Their worst case scenario – no further climate action is taken – is sobering. 2 The results of insufficient action will be worsening and more frequent extreme weather events, affected crop yields, coral die-off, increased sea levels, threatened ecosystems and more. These will have significant impacts on populations throughout the world, pushing many into harsher conditions with rarefied water, food and shelter from increasingly severe weather events, increasing conflict over resources in these regions. It would drive migration to never-seen levels, with people seeking asylum in relatively safer and kinder climates for which no country is currently prepared for. 3 I acknowledge the need to remain as unemotional and clear-headed about these problems, and the solutions we want to apply to them. But these are distressing prospects. In fact, climate anxiety is a growing factor of mental health issues, and by itself already brings in considerable human and economical costs. Experts believe it might even drive further inaction. 4 The 2019 bushfires in Australia offered us an overview of these environmental, economical and human catastrophes that are to become the norm if insufficient action is taken. This outlines why the IPCC's 'urgent and unprecedented change' is important and needed to avoid the worst effects of encroached climate change driven by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is why we need to commit to ambitious emission reduction targets. Australia's success in responding to the COVID19 pandemic has shown that listening to expert advice in a crisis, and hastily acting on it, is invaluable. In fact, calls for a green recovery are increasing globally, due to the economic downturn brought by the COVID19 pandemic. 5 We need to acknowledge the science, and follow the best expert advice available to drive ambitious policies. Because climate change is an increasingly difficult and costly problem to solve, early and ambitious reduction targets are best. Insufficient action will require more expensive remediation later, with lessened efficacy. Why legislating Net Zero by 2050 with regular 5 year budgets is needed Scientific projections into climate change and its effects generally find that the impacts are happening sooner and are worse than anticipated. 6 On the other hand, climate action and solutions are accelerating worldwide and fast-evolving. Given this, and the seriousness of the threat climate change poses, I would argue it requires a more ambitious budgeting schedule. I think the emission reduction targets and budgets should be reviewed yearly, potentially as part of the current federal budget. 5 year intervals would mean there are only two rounds between now and the IPCC's 10 years to address the worst effects of climate change. Why we need to conduct risk assessments and develop adaptation plans for all sectors, and why we must explore new technologies to identify effective and low-cost ways to reduce emissions As a private citizen, there is only so much I can broach about our entire economical system in this submission. I will sum it up as this: every aspect of our economy and daily lives generates emissions, one way or another. It is therefore paramount that we transition all sectors of our economy to be emissions-free, and conduct risk assessments and transition plans to do so. Beyond Zero Emission's One Million Job Plan 7, is a great example of what could be implemented. It looks at energy generation, the building industry, manufacturing, transport, recycling and land use, etc. Independent economical analysis has shown implementing a plan such as this would provide a positive impact on the Australian economy, while addressing the main causes of climate change. China, one of our most important trading partners, most recently set a 'before 2060' net- zero emissions target. 8 They are also one of Australia's main importers of coal and there are signs that they will stop importing Australian coal in the future. This spells future disruption to our local coal export industry 9, further underlying the need for a risk assessment. Importance of having an independent climate change commission and defining the skills needed on the commission Once again, Australia's success in responding to the COVID19 pandemic has shown that listening to expert advice in a crisis, and hastily acting on it, is invaluable. There are however a number of vested interest in the fossil fuel industry that are more interested in protecting the status quo on Australia's emission targets. An unfortunate state of Australian politics is these vested interests in the industries that emit the most have made significant donations to the dominant political parties of the country. Those donation amounts are public and speak for themselves. 10 Neither the current government or the opposition have shown a strong desire to implement ambitious targets. The lack of a national emissions reduction target – and indeed the outing of the previous Prime Minister who pursued one – is the result and proof of that. 11 Although the current Prime Minister's stance on this issue might have softened, he and his government have not yet ruled out the use of carry-over credits from the previous Kyoto agreement to meet Australia's 2030 target under the Paris agreement. 12 This has drawn condemnation from our allies globally, and is further pushing Australia into a global climate pariah. Our main coal-trading partners, China, Japan and South Korea all have committed going carbon-neutral within 2050 or shortly after. 13 Yet despite all this, our current federal political system has not produced ambitious targets, leaving it mostly to the states, who are moving at a much greater pace. To solve this, our best guarantee is to establish an independent commission not bound by vested interests. It needs to find independent climate solutions and policies that are truly ambitious for Australia. To do so it needs to be composed of policy experts and climate experts to their drive decisions. References 1 'We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not- exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report 2 '‘The only uncertainty is how long we’ll last’: a worst case scenario for the climate in 2050' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/15/worst-case- scenario-2050-climate-crisis-future-we-choose-christiana-figueres-tom-rivett-carnac 3 'One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/05/one-billion-people-will-live-in- insufferable-heat-within-50-years-study 4 ''Hijacked by anxiety': how climate dread is hindering climate action' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/08/anxiety-climate-crisis-trauma- paralysing-effect-psychologists 5 'US to join summit on global green recovery from Covid-19 crisis' – The Guardian, https:// www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/29/us-joins-summit-on-global-green- recovery-from-covid-19-crisis 6 'Climate worst-case scenarios may not go far enough, cloud data shows' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/13/climate-worst-case-scenarios- clouds-scientists-global-heating 7 Beyond Zero Emissions, Million Jobs Plan, https://millionjobs.org.au/ 8 'China pledges to become carbon neutral before 2060' – The Guardian, https:// www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/china-pledges-to-reach-carbon-neutrality- before-2060 9 'More than 60 Australian coal-carrying ships kept waiting to unload off ports in China' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/25/more-than-60- australian-coal-carrying-ships-kept-waiting-to-unload-off-ports-in-china 10 'Fossil-fuel industry doubles donations to major parties in four years, report shows' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/fossil-fuel-industry- doubles-donations-to-major-parties-in-four-years-report-shows 11 'Australian PM dumps key climate policy to stave off leadership revolt' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/20/australian-pm-dumps-key- climate-policy-to-stave-off-leadership-revolt 12 'Scott Morrison signals retreat on using carryover credits to meet emissions targets' – The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/scott-morrison- signals-retreat-on-using-carryover-credits-to-meet-emissions-targets 13 'Net zero: what if Australia misses the moment on climate action?' – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/31/net-zero-what-if-australia-misses- the-moment-on-climate-action.