“Australia has one of the world’s worst rates of deforestation, driven mostly by the beef industry. Every single day about 100,000 native animals are killed from this destruction as threatened species habitat, including for the iconic koala, is bulldozed at a rate of knots. 

“In just five years, 668,000 hectares of koala habitat was bulldozed by the beef industry for pasture — that’s 2,400 times the size of Sydney CBD. 

“It is simply not credible for the beef industry to cook up their own fantasy definition of deforestation and deny there is a problem — it’s like the fox guarding the henhouse.

“Any meaningful definition of deforestation must include threatened species habitat and regenerated forest — this is the widely accepted, global best practice approach. To ignore vital habitat for the endangered koala, for example, will not pass muster. Claims that the vast swathes of forest bulldozed for beef is for weed management are patently false. 

“Major global markets like the EU are moving rapidly towards responsibly-sourced beef — if the beef industry doesn’t clean up its act, it risks losing market and financial access. It’s deeply disappointing to see the Minister for Agriculture seemingly go against his own government’s goal of zero new species extinctions by railing against the EU’s critically important deforestation-free regulations.

“Any company in the beef supply chain, or financial institutions supporting the industry, should be very careful with any public claims they are deforestation-free based on deliberately weak definitions completely out of step with global best practice. 

“Market and financial regulators have made it clear that greenwashing is a priority area of concern and Greenpeace will be referring any suspect claims to these regulators. 

“The good news is that we already have the solutions — it’s only a relatively small number of operators doing most of the damage. The Australian beef industry can eliminate deforestation from the entire supply chain and be a leader in responsible beef production — this should be the focus of the industry, not continuing to deny a very serious problem.”

—ENDS—

High res images and footage of recent deforestation can be found here

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek today announced that the federal government will establish two new agencies – the EPA and Environmental Information Australia – as a matter of priority, but failed to give clear timelines on the bigger promise to deliver a new and vastly improved national nature law.

The federal government committed to doing so this term in its Nature Positive Plan.

Glenn Walker, Head of Nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said that in the face of a biodiversity and climate crisis, there was no time to lose in delivering a full and comprehensive package of reforms.

“Every single second, a native animal is killed from deforestation in Australia. Tens of thousands of hectares of koala habitat is bulldozed without environmental assessment each year. Weak laws and government inaction have made Australia a world leader in deforestation and biodiversity destruction. 

“The situation is urgent — there is simply no time to lose to save our forests and wildlife from the brink of extinction.

“We welcome the establishment of the new, properly resourced and independent EPA and in particular the Minister’s commitment to tackle rampant illegal deforestation. But the EPA will not have the teeth it needs until a strong national nature law also comes into place — forest destruction can also only be dealt with substantively with these legislative changes.

“It is also essential that the EPA is given powers to assess and reject large coal and gas projects where the climate impacts on nature are assessed as significant. Following the hottest year on record, it’s completely untenable that the existing nature law fails to allow this — another reason why it’s critical that the government gets on with the job of introducing the new nature law into parliament as soon as possible.

“What the government has announced today is a bit like a pub without beer — while the new institutions are welcome and important parts of the reform needed, the job is only finished when a strong and ambitious nature law is in place and environmental destruction is stopped.”

The announcement comes following confirmation today that the world is experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event — the second in the last 10 years — with the Great Barrier Reef currently impacted by severe bleaching.

—ENDS—

High res images and footage of recent deforestation can be found here and here

Media contacts

Kimberley Bernard on 0407 581 404 or kimberley.bernard@greenpeace.org

Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org 

The revelations follow questions to the offshore regulator NOPSEMA at Senate Estimates overnight.

Comments attributable to Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter:

“Companies with oil and gas rigs are required to have environmental management plans. These are a critical part of our regulatory framework and require developers to explain how their actions might impact our precious natural environment.

“Under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2023 the plans must be revised every 5 years so that changes to these risks can be properly scrutinised.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is concerned to learn that Woodside is in breach of these important environmental laws.

“Woodside’s legacy of toxic spills, accidents, and leaving oil and gas infrastructure rusting in the ocean despite orders from Australian authorities, shows that the company can’t be trusted when it comes to protecting our environment.

“Woodside’s operations are continuing at three facilities despite their last environment plans being accepted over five years ago, and revised environment plans not having been submitted for consideration by NOPSEMA. These include:

• the Macedon operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted to NOPSEMA by about 15/10/2023;
• the Vincent Maersk Ngujima-Yin FPSO operations on which the environment plan was due to be submitted by about 28/11/2023; and
• the Pyrenees facility operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted by about 3/1/2024.

“NOPSEMA confirmed in Senate Estimates that it issued an informal extension to Woodside on these environment plans, but that doesn’t go far enough.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is now urging NOPSEMA to exercise its powers to issue a directions notice to Woodside to force compliance with the requirement to submit revised environment plans.

“Ahead of an expected decision from the Federal Environment Minister concerning Woodside Energy’s climate-wrecking Burrup Hub project – the most polluting fossil fuel project currently proposed in Australia – we urge the Minister to take note of these concerns.

“Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, is reviewing Woodside’s plans to exploit the Browse gas field – a key part of the Burrup Hub project. This would require drilling up to 50 wells around Scott Reef, Australia’s largest stand-alone coral reef atoll and a vital habitat for pygmy blue whales and green sea turtles. The project would also require building a 900km-long pipeline through two marine parks.

“A decision to rule out Woodside’s Burrup Hub is a decision to save Scott Reef and prevent untold environmental harm.”

Greenpeace’s report into the potential risks of Woodside’s Burrup Hub project is here.

Images of the stunning, pristine Scott Reef are available for hi-res download here. Additional photos and materials can be made available on request.

—ENDS—

Adopted in June 2023, the UN Oceans Treaty is the most significant multilateral environmental deal since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and a vital tool to help reverse the ocean crisis. Australia joined dozens of other nations in signing the historic and legally-binding pact, but it must still be ratified by individual countries before it comes into effect.

The Treaty must enter in force by 2025 to keep the globally agreed target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 within reach.

Palau’s ratification highlights Pacific nations’ continuing leadership on global ocean protection, and sends a strong signal for other countries, including Australia, to fast-track ratification and take action to deliver protected oceans sanctuaries where marine life can recover and thrive.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Violette Snow said “The Global Oceans Treaty is a critical step forward in the fight to protect our oceans from the mounting threats of climate change, marine plastics and overfishing.”

“We congratulate Palau on becoming the first country to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty, a powerful tool to protect our oceans,” she said. 

“Australia’s leadership and cooperation with like-minded countries has seen a commitment to stronger protections for our oceans, but now the Australian government must back up words with action. 

“Lying between Australia and New Zealand, the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea have been identified as areas of ecological significance, but right now they’re under threat from harmful fishing practices.

“The race to protect our oceans is on. We urge Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to follow Palau’s announcement and act just as swiftly to ratify the Treaty, and to follow through on its conservation leadership on the global stage.”

Palau is the first nation to officially ratify the treaty, after Chile last week approved their treaty legislation with a unanimous vote in their senate. 

—ENDS—

Notes to editors

In September 2023, Greenpeace International published a report setting out the political process to deliver protection for the global oceans. The report, ‘30×30: From Global Ocean Treaty to Protection at Sea’ explores how cumulative pressures on the high seas are increasing, and quantifies for the first time the growing fishing activity in areas earmarked for protection, using data from Global Fishing Watch.

Images for media use can be found here

The new data from Greenpeace shows that the predicted emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub are far greater than all other proposed fossil fuel projects currently undergoing federal environmental approvals.

The Burrup Hub’s emissions are bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

The data comes as Western Australian experts and campaigners join today’s roundtable discussion on the Burrup Hub hosted by West Australian MPs Kate Chaney and Josh Wilson, including the Conservation Council of WA, Environs Kimberley, Doctors for the Environment WA and Greenpeace.

The delegation will highlight the staggering climate threat of Woodside’s Burrup Hub, alongside evidence of the devastating nature impacts.

The Browse field, the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub, would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around the stunning Scott Reef, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

*Graph verified by Greenpeace, emissions data sourced from Sunrise, Climate Analytics and Greenpeace.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:

“This data proves that Woodside’s massive Burrup Hub project is far and away the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia – it’s a disaster in the making for our environment and our climate.

“We know that Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will soon decide whether to let Woodside develop the most polluting parts of the Burrup Hub – Browse, and the Northwest Shelf extension.

“Browse, part of the Burrup Hub, would see gas wells drilled near the stunning Scott Reef, in a Biologically Important Area for endangered pygmy blue whales and turtles. We are asking Minister Plibersek to protect Scott Reef and the endangered species that call it home from Woodside’s dangerous project.

“In the last few weeks we’ve seen Woodside pressuring the government to weaken federal environment laws to make it quicker and easier for Woodside to start seismic testing for the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill knows that across Australia communities are increasingly pushing back against new fossil fuel projects, so is trying to rush this through as fast as she can – despite this project’s enormous environmental harm.”

Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of Western Australia said:

“Off Australia’s Kimberley coastline, the ecologically vital Scott Reef, the country’s largest standalone coral reef, faces severe threats from Woodside’s Browse to North West Shelf gas project. This venture, part of the controversial Burrup Hub, plans to extract gas from directly beneath the reef.

“The delicate ecosystem of Scott Reef, already endangered by climate change, confronts further risks, including seismic blasting, and the potential for a catastrophic gas well blowout if Woodside’s project proceeds.

“This is a crucial climate and environmental decision for Australia. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and State Environment Minister Reece Whitby must reject these proposals.”

Dr Richard Yin, Deputy Chair Doctors for the Environment Australia said:

“Climate care is health care. If the Burrup Hub project proceeds, emissions from the project will fuel further devastating heatwaves and bushfires such as those that Perth has recently experienced which has threatened homes and lives.

“Across our state, from floods and extreme heat in the north, through to droughts and bushfires in the south, we are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. For the sake of our children and their future health, the Burrup Hub project must not proceed.”

Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley said:

“Communities in the Kimberley’s Fitzroy Valley were devastated by the biggest recorded floods in Western Australia’s history earlier this year and what the science tells us is that opening new oil and gas fields is going to lead to these catastrophic events happening much more often.

“If fossil fuel proposals like Woodside’s Browse Basin gas project at Scott Reef are approved then future temperature projections show us that the Kimberley will be unliveable by the end of this century because it won’t be possible to live a healthy life here, it will be too hot.

“Risking Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast to oil and gas pollution is strongly opposed by the community and a spill there would devastate the globally significant marine hotspot and multi-million dollar tourism industry.”

CONTACT: 

Dylan Quinnell 0450 668 350

Kimberley Bernard (in Canberra on the day) 0407 581 404

Event details:

PHOTO OPP: 8.50AM-9.15AM, PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWN.

Campaigners, experts and politicians on the lawns of parliament and banners and signs.

• Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin
• Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle
• Monique Ryan, independent member for Kooyong
• Graham Perret, Labor member for Moreton
• Zoe Daniels, independent member for Goldstein
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley

ROUNDTABLE: 10AM PARLIAMENT HOUSE, 1R4

Hosted by Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin and Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle, featuring:

• Alex Hillman, Lead Analyst, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace will be moderating the event

NOTES:

Images and footage of the Scott Reef where Woodside is proposing to drill for gas available here

Images and footage of Woodside infrastructure available here.

Images and footage of the photo opp outside Parliament House will be available on Monday from 10.30am.

Greenpeace Germany activists hung a 150 square metre banner with the slogan “Gas destroyed” (Gas Zerstört) and “No New Gas”. A huge 15-metre-wide billboard displayed in front of Uniper HQ referenced its relationship with Woodside, reading: “Uniper – Whales suffer at state expense”. 

Activists also played whale songs and underwater seismic blasting in the atrium. 

The protest comes in the wake of Woodside losing a court case brought by First Nations woman Raelene Cooper. A Federal court judge ruled last week that Raelene Cooper was not properly consulted on Woodside’s plans to seismic blast in whale habitat off the coast of Exmouth, Western Australia.

“The eyes of the world are on Woodside – there’s nowhere for it to hide. People across the world care about Australia’s precious wildlife and oceans, and they don’t want to see them harmed by Woodside’s dirty gas,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Richard George said.

Woodside’s reckless attitude to our oceans and climate will drive away its customers, leaving the Burrup Hub a costly and destructive white elephant.”

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to protect Australia’s oceans by stopping the next phase of the Burrup Hub – the North West Shelf extension and Browse.

Greenpeace Germany is demanding Uniper withdraw from the purchase agreements with Woodside. 

“It is not acceptable that a German state-owned company contributes with its reckless business to destroying a unique marine area with whales, sea turtles and sensitive coral reefs,” Greenpeace ocean expert Franziska Saalmann said.

“Now is the moment for Uniper to stop its destructive gas plans and thus remove the financial basis for this project.”

Woodside plans to lay over 1,300 kilometres of pipelines off the west coast of Australia for fossil gas. Along with RWE, Uniper is Woodside’s main customer in Germany. 

The Burrup Hub will spew out more than six billion tonnes of carbon emissions in its lifetime until 2070, and its fossil fuel gas will condemn Australia to more floods, fires and droughts.  

—ENDS—

Photos and vision can be found here.

With Australia’s biggest fossil fuel decision currently before the WA EPA, Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on the Federal Environment Minister to step in and independently assess Woodside’s massive North West Shelf gas proposal. 

It follows recent reports that Western Australia’s former Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] chief claimed former premier Mark McGowan pressured him to withdraw tough emissions guidelines, noting the decision had reportedly triggered massive backlash from Woodside.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Clean Energy Transition Jess Panegyres said the said Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek must carry out an independent assessment of Woodside’s North West Shelf project in light of the claims.

“There are now serious questions being raised about the independence of the WA EPA. In light of the perception of compromised independence and the staggering emissions from this project, we believe it must be subject to an independent Federal assessment. Decisions this big cannot be left to a body that’s former chief has alleged is subject to serious interference,” she said.

“The WA EPA has recently assessed the biggest new fossil fuel project in Australia – Woodside’s North West Shelf Extension, which would see WA’s oldest and most polluting gas plant operate until 2070, contributing 4.3 billion tonnes of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“Greenpeace is currently appealing the WA EPA’s recommendation that Woodside’s proposal should be approved. Greenpeace is calling on the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek – who will ultimately decide whether to approve this project or not – to immediately conduct an independent assessment of the impacts of the North West Shelf. 

“We have looked closely at the WA EPA’s assessment of Woodside’s North West Shelf and consider it to be fundamentally flawed. We believe the full impacts of the project have never been properly assessed and are concerned that the project is inconsistent with the Albanese Government’s Climate Change Act and with stabilising global warming at 1.5 degrees. 

“The scope 1 emissions alone from this project are enormous – 385 million tonnes – and we are concerned  this project is inconsistent with the Australian government’s legislated target of net zero emissions by 2050. 

“The total greenhouse gas emissions from this project – equivalent to almost 9 years of Australia’s total emissions – would directly contribute to the worsening floods, bushfires, heatwaves and droughts that are already affecting communities across Western Australia and the rest of the country. The emissions will have far-reaching environmental impacts in Western Australia, Australia and the world. This project should never be approved. At the very least, it should be subject to the highest level of independent scrutiny.

“We are appealing this decision with the WA Appeals Convenor.

“Woodside has a history of throwing its weight around, attempting to pressure state and federal governments to serve its interests, instead of the public interest. Woodside is currently trying to push ahead with the biggest new fossil fuel project in Australia, the Burrup Hub, of which the North West Shelf is a key component. 

“It is essential that their projects are subject to the highest level of scrutiny, given their grave implications for climate change,” Panegyres added.

—ENDS—

The final report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Cycle is the final-hour warning before the clock runs out on 1.5°C, and we must pull every lever to achieve the globally agreed objective, says Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

The IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, which integrates findings from the six reports the IPCC has published since 2018, lays out the extent to which climate change has already damaged the planet and life on earth, with further future damage now unavoidable and potentially irreversible. 

IPCC AR6 key findings:

• The world’s existing fossil fuel infrastructure without additional abatement would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C and with every additional increment of warming, changes in extremes continue to become larger
• Current national climate commitments make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century and make it harder to limit warming below 2°C.
• However, in certain scenarios and pathways, global warming declines back to below 1.5°C by the end of the 21st century with immediate, deep and rapid emissions reductions
• Current scenarios and pathways have us on track for a range from 1.4°C  for the very low emissions scenario through to 4.4°C for the very high emissions scenario 
• All global modelled pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot, and those that limit warming to 2°C, involve rapid and deep and, in most cases, immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors this decade
• Some future changes are unavoidable and potentially irreversible, with sea level rise unavoidable for centuries to millennia
• For any given future warming level, many climate-related risks are higher than previously assessed, and projected long-term impacts are up to multiple times higher than currently observed

QUOTES

David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said this report is a screaming siren calling us to action.

“The emergency is upon us. We can see the impacts climate damage is having every single day – the floods, fires, storms, heatwaves, droughts, and rising seas that are overwhelming whole communities. 

 “But the great source of hope is that we know the causes of this crisis and we have the solutions. We must cut emissions faster, and overcome the vested interests that corrupt our democracy and stand in the way of deploying vital solutions at vast speed and scale, to secure the survival of millions of people, whole ecosystems and innumerable species.

“In these times of emergency, we must hold our leaders to their words. At COP27, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen called for the ‘strongest possible action’ to limit global heating to 1.5°C. As this report is handed down, in Australia this means no new coal, oil, or gas projects, like Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub, and a much stronger Safeguard Mechanism than currently proposed. 

“Launching the government’s wildlife protection plan, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said she will not ‘accept environmental decline and extinction as inevitable’. Nothing could be clearer – there can be no new coal, oil, or gas and we must see an end to deforestation.

“We still have agency in this planetary crisis. Great historic change is invariably nonlinear – we know the solutions and people, working together, can achieve practically anything. 

“Political and business leaders have no excuses and must be held to account in this hour of supreme planetary need. Now is the hour, there must be action to reduce emissions at emergency speed and scale.”

Prof. Dr. Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Head of Climate Science at Climate Analytics, stressed that despite the grave risks in failing to act, this report shows the Paris Agreement long term goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C is still within reach.

“1.5°C refers to human-made global warming and is calculated as a long-term average over 20 years or more. This is why if one year hits 1.5°C, or even several years in a row, this doesn’t mean we’ve reached that long-term average yet. At 1.5°C global warming we would expect that every second year would be above 1.5°C and we would only be able to say this with certainty in hindsight, probably up to 10 years after.

“The focus on 1.5°C being dead or gone is an unhelpful distraction from what needs to happen now, which is rapid emissions reductions this decade and a shift away from fossil fuels.”

Shiva Gounden, Pacific advisor, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said despite suffering the worst impacts, Pacific island nations demonstrate climate leadership that must be followed. 

“1.5°C is still alive – but our last possible path to reach it is lit by those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We must follow their light to survive.

“Pacific island nations suffer the worst impacts of the climate crisis, such as the recent devastation wreaked by twin Category 4 cyclones Judy and Kevin, but have historically contributed the least. This final report is resoundingly clear on the scale of the crisis facing the Pacific and the urgency needed, with low-lying coastal areas already reaching the limits of adaptation. 

“The peoples of the Pacific continue to confront the devastating reality of the climate crisis with hope, determination and courage. But we do more than deal with the consequences. These proud people know that our lands and ways of living are worth saving – and have the conviction and plan to do so. 

“Pacific island nations demonstrate global climate leadership from the frontline. The world must stand with them, starting with voting yes at the UN General Assembly next week on Vanuatu’s landmark bid to prevent climate harm through the world’s highest court.”

Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, said the report further codifies the Pacific’s leadership on climate action from the frontline.

“The IPCC synthesis report is the science to our lived realities. As the world looks at the rapid trajectory to and beyond 1.5°C, the Pacific is already suffering from the sin of high-emitting countries. Yet we persist; battered by extreme weather, our island nations are joining the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. But right now we are in the fight for our right to exist. We need rapid transitions to truly renewable energy and increased finance to support our efforts to be resilient, to live.”

Anjali Sharma, 18yo climate activist and lead litigant in Sharma v Environment Minister, the landmark court case which called for a duty of care to protect children against the impacts of climate change, said:

“This report is not only a damning indictment on the polluters and governments of generations past, but a wake up call for leaders now to drastically scale up their efforts to combat climate change if the world is to save the future for generations to come.

“The reality of the climate crisis is already devastating and this report lays clear the scale of the devastation future generations face, with some changes like sea level rise unavoidable and potentially irreversible.

“This is the world being handed to my generation, in which we are expected to construct our lives. We do not have the privilege of time, the bliss of ignorance, the safety of desensitisation. But with 1.5°C still alive, we must act – radically, urgently, and together – to force governments through the crack in the window of opportunity to secure a liveable future for generations to come.”

The IPCC synthesis report comes on the eve of a historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice – the highest court in the world – to issue an advisory opinion on climate change.

—ENDS—

The IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, which integrates findings from the six reports the IPCC has published since 2018, lays out the extent to which climate change has already damaged the planet and life on earth, with further future damage now unavoidable and potentially irreversible. 

IPCC AR6 key findings:

• The world’s existing fossil fuel infrastructure without additional abatement would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C and with every additional increment of warming, changes in extremes continue to become larger
• Current national climate commitments make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century and make it harder to limit warming below 2°C.
• However, in certain scenarios and pathways, global warming declines back to below 1.5°C by the end of the 21st century with immediate, deep and rapid emissions reductions
• Current scenarios and pathways have us on track for a range from 1.4°C  for the very low emissions scenario through to 4.4°C for the very high emissions scenario 
• All global modelled pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot, and those that limit warming to 2°C, involve rapid and deep and, in most cases, immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors this decade
• Some future changes are unavoidable and potentially irreversible, with sea level rise unavoidable for centuries to millennia
• For any given future warming level, many climate-related risks are higher than previously assessed, and projected long-term impacts are up to multiple times higher than currently observed

QUOTES

David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said this report is a screaming siren calling us to action.

“The emergency is upon us. We can see the impacts climate damage is having every single day – the floods, fires, storms, heatwaves, droughts, and rising seas that are overwhelming whole communities.  

“But the great source of hope is that we know the causes of this crisis and we have the solutions. We must cut emissions faster, and overcome the vested interests that corrupt our democracy and stand in the way of deploying vital solutions at vast speed and scale, to secure the survival of millions of people, whole ecosystems and innumerable species.

“In these times of emergency, we must hold our leaders to their words. At COP27, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen called for the ‘strongest possible action’ to limit global heating to 1.5°C. As this report is handed down, in Australia this means no new coal, oil, or gas projects, like Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub, and a much stronger Safeguard Mechanism than currently proposed. 

“Launching the government’s wildlife protection plan, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said she will not ‘accept environmental decline and extinction as inevitable’. Nothing could be clearer – there can be no new coal, oil, or gas and we must see an end to deforestation.

“We still have agency in this planetary crisis. Great historic change is invariably nonlinear – we know the solutions and people, working together, can achieve practically anything. 

“Political and business leaders have no excuses and must be held to account in this hour of supreme planetary need. Now is the hour, there must be action to reduce emissions at emergency speed and scale.”

Prof. Dr. Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Head of Climate Science at Climate Analytics, stressed that despite the grave risks in failing to act, this report shows the Paris Agreement long term goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C is still within reach.

“1.5°C refers to human-made global warming and is calculated as a long-term average over 20 years or more. This is why if one year hits 1.5°C, or even several years in a row, this doesn’t mean we’ve reached that long-term average yet. At 1.5°C global warming we would expect that every second year would be above 1.5°C and we would only be able to say this with certainty in hindsight, probably up to 10 years after.

“The focus on 1.5°C being dead or gone is an unhelpful distraction from what needs to happen now, which is rapid emissions reductions this decade and a shift away from fossil fuels.”

Shiva Gounden, Pacific advisor, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said despite suffering the worst impacts, Pacific island nations demonstrate climate leadership that must be followed. 

“1.5°C is still alive – but our last possible path to reach it is lit by those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We must follow their light to survive.

“Pacific island nations suffer the worst impacts of the climate crisis, such as the recent devastation wreaked by twin Category 4 cyclones Judy and Kevin, but have historically contributed the least. This final report is resoundingly clear on the scale of the crisis facing the Pacific and the urgency needed, with low-lying coastal areas already reaching the limits of adaptation. 

“The peoples of the Pacific continue to confront the devastating reality of the climate crisis with hope, determination and courage. But we do more than deal with the consequences. These proud people know that our lands and ways of living are worth saving – and have the conviction and plan to do so. 

“Pacific island nations demonstrate global climate leadership from the frontline. The world must stand with them, starting with voting yes at the UN General Assembly next week on Vanuatu’s landmark bid to prevent climate harm through the world’s highest court.”

Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, said the report further codifies the Pacific’s leadership on climate action from the frontline.

“The IPCC synthesis report is the science to our lived realities. As the world looks at the rapid trajectory to and beyond 1.5°C, the Pacific is already suffering from the sin of high-emitting countries. Yet we persist; battered by extreme weather, our island nations are joining the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. But right now we are in the fight for our right to exist. We need rapid transitions to truly renewable energy and increased finance to support our efforts to be resilient, to live.”

Anjali Sharma, 18yo climate activist and lead litigant in Sharma v Environment Minister, the landmark court case which called for a duty of care to protect children against the impacts of climate change, said:

“This report is not only a damning indictment on the polluters and governments of generations past, but a wake up call for leaders now to drastically scale up their efforts to combat climate change if the world is to save the future for generations to come.

“The reality of the climate crisis is already devastating and this report lays clear the scale of the devastation future generations face, with some changes like sea level rise unavoidable and potentially irreversible.

“This is the world being handed to my generation, in which we are expected to construct our lives. We do not have the privilege of time, the bliss of ignorance, the safety of desensitisation. But with 1.5°C still alive, we must act – radically, urgently, and together – to force governments through the crack in the window of opportunity to secure a liveable future for generations to come.”

The IPCC synthesis report comes on the eve of a historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice – the highest court in the world – to issue an advisory opinion on climate change.

—ENDS—

Notes:

Access the full Greenpeace media briefing here

Recent images of climate damage in the Pacific photographed by Nikiatu Kuautonga available here.

Images of Pasifika activists sailing past the UN HQ to the Statue of Liberty calling for nations to support climate justice through the ICJAO resolution are available for download here. 

The Minister today announced the Federal Government’s response to the Samuel’s Review, an independent review undertaken during the Morrison Government with view to reforming the  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Glenn Walker, Head of Advocacy and Strategy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said that the reforms outlined are a very welcome and long-overdue first step to better protecting Australia’s extraordinary wildlife, forests and natural environment.

“Australia’s natural environment is in steep and alarming decline. When even iconic wildlife like the koala are being pushed towards extinction you know it’s time to raise the alarm bells. Australia is a world leader in wildlife extinction, deforestation and approving huge climate-wrecking coal and gas projects. This has to stop.”

“The reforms announced today present a major opportunity to set Australia on a path to stronger environmental protection and should bring hope to all Australians. We congratulate the Minister for showing leadership on this critical issue.

“But the devil will very much be in the details. The proposed National Environmental Standards and regional plans must set in stone firm boundaries that destructive industries must not cross, including no-go zones for bulldozing high conservation forest and habitat for threatened species.

“There are also major missing pieces of the reforms that must be incorporated, including an assessment trigger for major climate-polluting projects and the ability of communities to challenge approvals of large projects in the courts. We’re also concerned by the heavy reliance on so-called offsets in the proposed new approvals system.

“The ultimate tests will be whether this brings back our amazing wildlife and plants from the brink of extinction, whether it halts Australia’s globally-significant rates of deforestation and whether massive climate-polluting projects like Woodside’s offshore gas plans continue to get the green light.

“We encourage the Minister to bear these tests in mind with every decision on these reforms as the details are worked through. This Government will either be forever celebrated for their strong leadership to protect Australia’s extraordinary environment or will be remembered harshly for failing a once-off opportunity to save our wildlife and natural wonders from oblivion.”

—ENDS—