“Western Australia is one of the windiest places in the world, and with our skilled workforce and export infrastructure, WA is perfectly placed to become a renewable energy superpower,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Climate and Energy Jess Panegyres said today.

“Today’s announcement from Minister Bowen marks a clear investment in WA’s clean energy future – it will deliver thousands of sustainable jobs in the clean energy sector and lower energy costs.

“Western Australia is in the grips of the climate crisis, and so many of us are being crunched by rising costs of living.

“It makes sense, both environmentally and economically, to invest in renewables and ensure a cleaner, safer future for West Australian communities. The overall environmental benefit of wind farms is a win for nature and our climate.

“We don’t need more polluting fossil fuels like gas for local energy or export revenue when we have all we need, right here and now, to provide West Australians with a sustainable future,” Ms Panegyres added.

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is a global independent campaigning organisation that uses peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Kimberley Bernard on 0407 581 404 or kbernard@greenpeace.org

The announcement comes as Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen arrives in Dubai for Week 2 of COP28, where fraught battles over fossil fuel phase out and climate finance are set to be waged.

Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Shiva Gounden, said that “to meet its responsibility to ‘the Pacific Family’, Australia must take action to phase out fossil fuels and to make fair contributions to the Loss and Damage fund.”

“I am frustrated by another piecemeal announcement from the Australian government that does not go far enough to address the climate-driven loss and damage that is devastating communities across the Pacific.

“$150 million barely scratches the surface of what Pacific communities need to deal with the impacts of the climate crisis — peanuts, considering the billions of taxpayer dollars poured into the fossil fuel industry as subsidies every year, which could be channelled towards supporting our Pacific family.

“As the third largest fossil fuel exporter in the world, we can not shirk our responsibility to help pay for the climate damage we have helped to create. The funds committed today will not save the Pacific from the climate destruction it is facing — we must tackle the root causes and stop approving new fossil fuel projects now.

“Australia has a responsibility under the UNFCCC process to help fill the Loss and Damage Fund, operationalised on Day 1 of this year’s COP. Instead, we are seeing unilateral side deals which are not in the spirit of the COP process, nor our obligations under the international agreements to which we have signed up. Australia must do better.”

Head of Advocacy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Dr Susie Byers, acknowledged the finance package as a good first step, but urged the Australian government to go much further.

“This finance package, while welcome, is a down payment on the real action required to meet our responsibilities as a major contributor to the climate crisis globally.

“It does not negate our obligation to make fair payments to the Loss and Damage fund, a hard-fought victory at COP27 that will help support those countries least responsible for creating the climate crisis to deal with its impacts.

“Of course we must help the world prepare for the climate disasters that are already coming towards us, but we must also stop making the problem worse. By expanding, subsidising and exporting coal and fossil gas, we are exporting climate harm to our Pacific neighbours and to the whole world.

“We can not afford another COP without radical action and a commitment to phase out fossil fuels globally. Australia must help fill the Loss and Damage fund and outline a clear, ambitious plan to phase out fossil fuels for good.”

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific is on the ground in Dubai during COP28 and can provide a range of COP delegates, experts and Pacific climate leaders for interviews and commentary.

“The Albanese government has made great strides forward in delivering what Australia needs – an ambitious roll-out of clean, affordable and reliable energy that will also reduce emissions, but this good work is hugely undermined by its refusal to stop new fossil fuel projects that will spew out billions of tonnes of emissions,” said David Ritter, CEO, Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world, and we have the skilled people and resources to smash our 43% emissions reduction target while becoming a renewable energy superpower. But fossil fuels are slowing us down in the race to cut emissions at the speed and scale demanded by science, and future-proof our economy.

“An immediate step the Federal Government should take to avert climate disaster is to stop Woodside’s Burrup Hub, Australia’s biggest climate threat, which is projected to emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

“The Climate Change Statement comes as COP28 kicks off, where Australia and other major polluters will rightly come under significant pressure to stop approving new coal and gas projects in order to preserve a chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C. If Australia wants to be taken seriously as a climate leader, it simply cannot greenlight more fossil fuels,” said Mr Ritter.

Lindsay Soutar, head of Electrify, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The Federal Government’s Climate Change Statement would show better progress if Transport Minister Catherine King had not dragged her feet on delivering much-needed legislation on a Fuel Efficiency Standard.

“Transport is the third largest source of emissions in Australia, and every day that we do not have legislation to limit emissions from polluting vehicles, we are locking in decades of avoidable pollution, while Australians miss out on millions of dollars of savings,” said Ms Soutar.

The second annual Climate Change Statement comes as two new pieces of analysis released by Greenpeace Australia Pacific this week show that $10.1bn could have been saved by motorists had a Fuel Efficiency Standard been introduced back in 2016—the figure is rising by $105/second—and that Woodside’s Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, emitting 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific has revealed the first images of fossil fuel company Woodside dredging in endangered sea turtle habitat to lay a pipeline for its Burrup Hub gas project, and has vowed to escalate pressure on the company.

The annual climate conference commences as Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen delivers his second Annual Climate Change Statement, which is expected to show that Australia is on track to cut emissions by 42% by 2030. 

But when Minister Bowen lands in Dubai next week, he will face significant pressure over the government’s inaction on phasing out fossil fuels, with massive new coal and gas projects including Woodside’s Burrup Hub still in the pipeline — completely undermining any progress made towards reaching our 2030 target and limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.

Speaking from Dubai, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Shiva Gounden, said that if Australia is serious about showing true climate leadership in our region and partnering with Pacific nations to co-host COP31, its actions must match its rhetoric.

“We’ve seen a frustrating lack of ambition from the Australian government in the lead up to COP28, deploying chequebook diplomacy and making modest commitments which fall short of expectations to address the accelerating climate destruction we’re seeing in real time,” Gounden said.

“While progress towards reaching our emissions reduction target is positive, any gains are completely dwarfed by plans to expand fossil fuel exports. Does Minister Bowen really expect the world to praise Australia’s progress on meeting its 43% target, and ignore the colossal elephant in the room — the billions of tonnes of emissions generated if all the coal and gas projects currently undergoing federal approval went ahead?

“COP28 must be a moment of reckoning on fossil fuels. If we have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees — a figure which the Global Stocktake warns we are dangerously off course from meeting — we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and end the billions of dollars of subsidies poured into these polluting industries every year.

“1.5 degrees is not simply a ‘nice-to-have’ — it’s a lifeline for our Pacific communities who are facing urgent threats to their livelihoods, their culture, their very existence.

“The Australian government’s actions in Dubai must match its rhetoric. I urge Minister Bowen to come to COP28 with a real plan to phase out fossil fuels and to make significant contributions to a Loss and Damage fund to help support Pacific nations grappling with climate harm — there is no time to lose.”

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific will be on the ground in Dubai during COP28 and can provide a range of COP delegates, experts and Pacific climate leaders for interviews and commentary.

Greenpeace has two questions we believe Minister Bowen should answer before he departs for the conference next week.

QUESTION 1: 2023 has been the hottest year on record and the science is clear that to keep warming within 1.5 degrees – a commitment Minister Bowen says we “should not forget for this coming COP” – we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. How does the Albanese Government see fossil fuel expansion in Australia being compatible with a 1.5 degree world, as well as being the ‘partner of choice’ for Pacific nations?

Minister Bowen is likely to bring evidence to Dubai that Australia is all but on track to reach its 43% emissions reduction target by 2030. But while the positive steps forward on climate made since the election are to be applauded, the emissions generated by the Albanese Government’s continued approval of new coal and gas projects dwarfs any emissions avoided by these measures. 

1.5 degrees is not just an ambition — it’s a lifeline for Pacific communities bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. Stopping new fossil fuel projects in Australia is something the Pacific has been crying out for in very clear terms, especially if Australia is serious about co-hosting COP31 with Pacific nations.

QUESTION 2: One of the most urgent demands of Pacific nations is for major emitting countries, including Australia, to provide compensation for the climate damage they have caused. What are the Albanese Government’s plans for addressing Loss and Damage finance at COP28?

Australia is the third largest fossil fuel exporter in the world and makes an outsized contribution to global emissions. It’s only fair that major polluters pay for the damage they’ve caused. At COP28, the Australian government must support the launch and financing of an operationalised Loss and Damage Fund, one that is transparent, accessible, and genuinely addresses the needs of communities to respond to the climate crisis.

Instead of propping up the fossil fuel industry with subsidies, the billions of dollars saved every year could be channelled towards Australian and Pacific communities being directly impacted by the climate crisis. Making fair contributions towards a Loss and Damage fund is a vital step towards repairing our relationship with the Pacific. This is set to be a highly debated topic at COP28.

Greenpeace will be on the ground in Dubai and can provide a range of COP delegates, experts and Pacific climate leaders for interview on issues including:

• What delegates and Pacific leaders are calling for at COP28
• How the climate crisis disproportionately affects Pacific nations with case-studies and lived experiences
• Australia’s refusal to end new fossil fuel approvals and subsidies, including Woodside’s Burrup Hub — Australia’s biggest fossil fuel threat
• The Australia-pacific relationship, COP31 bid and Australia’s responsibility to the Pacific region 
• Climate finance and Loss & Damage

—ENDS—

Given transport is one third of Australia’s carbon emissions, pollution from petrol cars is a health hazard and petrol prices keep going up during a cost of living crisis, that is great news for most people!

But car companies, like Toyota, who have failed to keep up with EV technology and are still making a profit from selling their petrol cars are arguing for a bunch of loopholes in the fuel efficiency standards. And that is bad news! A fuel efficiency standard riddled with holes will undermine emissions reductions, cost savings, and mean less electric vehicles for sale.

Here’s how the fuel efficiency standards should work. 

Standards set a target for how much pollution each brand of car can emit on average.

Each car company tries to reduce the average emissions of the cars they sell to get below the target. If they’re below the target, they get credits. If they’re above the target, they have to pay penalties or buy credits from another company.

This means car companies have a reason to bring their most efficient petrol cars, and their electric models, to Australia.  Fuel efficiency standards have been used to successfully get more EVs on the road in the US, EU and New Zealand.

So how does the ghost car loophole work?

Car companies say they should get extra credit for selling electric and hybrid cars – these are called ‘super credits’ or ‘multiplier credits’ – but we call them Ghost Cars.  So when the companies add up their average, they want to count their really polluting cars once…. and count their really clean cars two, three or four times.

So for every actual electric car they sell, they also get to count free Ghost electric cars. Imagine that!

It’s great for car companies because all these ghost electric cars make their average look much better. But it means that whatever the pollution cap the Government introduces, these petrol car companies will get so many credits that they will barely have to change the vehicles  they sell to us. That’s not good news for Australians who desperately want to get their hands on cleaner transport options.

So why is the Government considering using ghost cars?

Australia isn’t the first country to legislate a fuel efficiency standard. In fact 85% of the global car market already has these standards.

When other countries like the USA and EU were creating their fuel standards, electric and hybrid cars were really new technology. So car companies argued it would be easier for them to meet pollution targets by just making petrol engines more efficient than building entirely new types of vehicles, so they should get extra credits for the new types of vehicles.

But now electric vehicles aren’t new, and hybrids certainty aren’t. So the USA and EU are phasing out these credits.

Which means to meet their targets in the USA and Europe, car companies need to sell efficient vehicles and electric vehicles. Real, actual ones.

But in Australia, car companies are arguing that they should be able to keep meeting their targets with ghost cars for years and years to come.

If only our petrol bills and climate-related bushfires were imaginary too.

Ministers Catherine King and Chris Bowen, need to stand up to the petrol car companies and rule out including ‘ghost car’ multiplier credits in their proposed scheme.

The annual ranking evaluates the world’s 15 largest traditional automakers on their phase-out of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, supply chain decarbonisation, and resource reduction and efficiency. The report highlights how Australia’s most popular car brands are also some of the worst in terms of electrification and decarbonisation efforts.

Suzuki was bottom of the pile and did not sell a single zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) in 2022, nor has it set any targets for supply chain or materials decarbonisation.

Australia’s leading car brand Toyota crawled up from last year’s bottom-ranking position, but continues to stall when it comes to ZEV sales which represented a measly 0.24% of its total sales in 2022 — exceedingly low for a carmaker of its size. 

The Australian Government is currently considering the introduction of a Fuel Efficiency Standard (FES) which would limit pollution from cars by creating a cap on emissions across a manufacturer’s overall sales. This would incentivise the supply of zero and low-emissions vehicles, ensuring everyday Australians have access to more affordable and less polluting cars.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner Joe Rafalowicz said that Australia is one of the only developed nations without an emissions standard and is fast becoming a dumping ground for expensive, dirty vehicles.

“Australia is considered an ‘ICE hold-out market’ due to our lack of fuel efficiency standards, placing us in the same category as countries like Turkey and Vietnam. 

“While Australians are calling out for access to more affordable electric vehicles, and petrol prices keep rising, Toyota continues to lobby for weak policy to protect its petrol-powered profits. This is clearly not in the interest of Australian consumers.

“A strong Fuel Efficiency Standard will benefit all Australians by slashing emissions, improving air quality, and reducing cost of living pressures. We call on Ministers Bowen and King to ensure a FES is implemented quickly and is robust enough to have a real impact on transport emissions, and to rule out loopholes for companies who have failed to invest in electric vehicles”

Yesterday, Greenpeace issued a statement in support of the decision by the High Court to scrap Victoria’s ‘ill-considered’ road user tax for electric vehicles.

In Question Time yesterday, Minister for Transport Catherine King was asked by MP for Kooyong Monique Ryan whether the government would rule out supercredits and other loopholes for car companies in its forthcoming fuel efficiency standard.

In an August statement, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said that the strong response to his government’s FES consultation reinforces overwhelming support for the Government’s position that, “Australia needs fuel efficiency standards that make us competitive with other parts of the world for cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars.”

—ENDS—

Notes for editor:

• Read the full report and media briefing 
• Toyota was penalised in the ranking due to a series of class-action lawsuits, known as “Dieselgate,” for emissions cheating that involves tampered devices displaying a lower nitrogen oxide emission level than the actual emissions.
• Toyota received a score of ‘D’ by InfluenceMap, due to its history of negative lobbying and active involvement in regressive trade associations.
• Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s submission to the Australian Government’s FES Consultation can be found here

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 details were announced by Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in Gladstone today, following a consultation process beset by heavy-handed lobbying from the fossil fuel industry.

Glenn Walker, Head of Advocacy and Strategy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the Safeguard Mechanism must be significantly strengthened and rule out handouts to the fossil fuel industry.

“While it’s an improvement on the Coalition’s failed policy, the revised Safeguard Mechanism is still a licence to pollute. There’s a lot of work to be done to make it fit for purpose, including closing some loopholes you could drive a coal train through,” he said.

“We need the Federal Government to raise its ambition and bring Australia’s big corporate polluters to heel. This includes capping the use of offsets and setting a zero emissions baseline for new entrants. 

“It’s imperative that Minister Bowen does not give any of the $600 million earmarked for ‘trade exposed’ industries to fossil fuel companies. Coal and gas companies got us into this mess and Australian taxpayers should not pay to bail them out of it.

“It’s good that the Federal Government has ruled out use of dodgy international offsets, but we’re concerned about the proposed unfettered access to Australian offsets, which have serious integrity issues. This means corporate polluters can buy carbon offsets to avoid and delay actually reducing or removing harmful greenhouse gas emissions in their own operations.

“Massive new entrant gas projects like Woodside’s Burrup Hub could blow Australia’s emissions baseline out of the water under the current policy proposal. This places an unfair burden on other Australian businesses and sectors, which would need to do more heavy lifting to reduce emissions.”

Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s recommendations for a strong, effective Safeguard Mechanism:

1. Set an ambitious emission reduction target to 2030, falling year-on-year: In order to meet the Paris Agreement 1.5 degree target, the Safeguard Mechanism emission reduction target must be set to a baseline of 57Mt in 2029-2030. 
2. Zero emissions baseline for new entrants: To ensure an equitable and effective policy, the emissions baseline set for new facilities entering the scheme must be set to zero.
3. No special treatment or complex arrangements: There should be no favourable treatment or complex special emissions calculations for specific companies like Woodside Energy, including multi-year monitoring. The coal and gas industry should not receive any “trade exposed” assistance.
4. Disallow Australian carbon offsets (ACCUs) for coal, gas and oil companies: Fossil carbon kept underground is far more stable than carbon actively cycling between the land, ocean and atmosphere. The priority should therefore be to keep the fossil carbon in the ground and not equate this with land-based carbon offsets. For this reason coal, gas and oil companies – the primary global drivers of climate change – should not be permitted to use Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) as part of the scheme and should be forced to use Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs) instead.

—ENDS—

1 Climate Council. 2016. Land carbon: no substitute for action on fossil fuels.