Why Australia needs to bite the bullet & fight against climate change

Summary 

• Australia is gradually drowning deeper with concerns of climate change rising in the country.
• In the Climate Change Performance Index 2021, Australia has ranked among the worst countries, capturing the 54^th position among 61 nations.
• The Land Down Under needs to adopt a national policy that works for the people, environment, and the economy.

Australia has again captured the centre of the climate change radar. The changing climate of the continent is continuously putting threats to living conditions in the country. Be it the bushfires, draughts or the rising temperature, Australia is struggling with managing the worsening climate change conditions.

Australia has ranked last for climate change among the UN member countries. The concern has turned out to be an eye-opener for the civilians and the government. It is high time that if climate change policies are not prioritised now, Australia might fail in the battle against climate change.

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Australia stance in the Sustainable Development Report 2021

Australia has scored 10 points out of 100 in the Sustainable Development Report 2021. The report revolves around fossil fuel emissions, toxicants related by exports and imports, and policymaking for carbon prices.

The report reveals the sad truth that Australia has not succeeded much in curbing its overall greenhouse emissions. Moreover, Australia’s failure to capture a worthy position in the Sustainable Development Report signifies that the country has not successfully achieved the UN’s 17 sustainable goals like affordable and clean energy, creating sustainable cities, etc.

Similarly, in the Climate Change Performance Index 2021, Australia has ranked among the worst countries, capturing 54^th position among 61 nations.

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Climate deterioration- a drowning situation?

Recently, the United Nations announced that the Great Barrier Reef has suffered extensive damage due to the changing climatic conditions. The Australian environment groups urged the UN to put the Great Barrier Reef on the ‘in danger’ list. However, Australian officials rejected it.

Unfortunately, Australia lags behind similar economies when it comes to carbon pollution per person and emission intensity. Additionally, since the climate policies are not prioritised in the country, and the 2021 budget also did not come up with new stricter ways of curbing greenhouse emissions, it is projected that climatic conditions may worsen in Australia.

According to Climate Analytics, overall greenhouse emissions will increase in Australia by 8.6% by 2030. It will take Australia away from reaching the goals of the Paris agreement and the promise that Australia made to decrease its emissions by 2030.

Australia needs to realise the potential effects that climate change can cause on healthy and sustainable life in the country. There are ways how Australia can turn the table and make the situation in its favour.

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Ways to turn the table

Australia needs to adopt a national policy that works for the people, environment and the economy. Adapting to green technology is the ultimate way to reduce emissions.

The authorities need to give leverage to industries so that they can invest more in green technology. Thus, the promotion of green tech by the government and investment in green tech by industrialists goes hand in hand.

The country also needs to restore, rehabilitate, and reforest across regions. Australia’s industries, transport, and power supply play a prominent role in determining how it performs in environmental protection and sustainability.

By phasing out coal, prompting zero-carbon electricity, switching to cleaner transportation, better farming practices and eliminating deforestation, Australia can make a difference in climate change. An important factor of utmost importance that should not be missed is transparency in climate change policies, that should exist among all the sectors and government authorities.

Australia’s poor rankings in various climate change indexes signal that Australia is not performing relatively well to protect the environment. Thus, if quick, transparent, and practical steps are not taken at the moment, Australia would suffer a significant loss in the coming decades.