Coming out of the naughty corner – Climate Weekly

After nearly a decade of capture by climate deniers and delayers, Australia has a leader promising to get it out of the “naughty corner”.

Anthony Albanese is available to apologize, hug a Pacific islander, and clean up the mess. Or, in his words, make Australia “a renewable energy superpower”.

His Australian Labor Party is currently one seat away from a majority in parliament’s lower house, with some votes still being counted. If it gets over the line, Albanese may not rely on the support of Greens and “Teal independents” to govern. He would be well advised to listen to their popularity surge.

Labor plans to submit an updated 2030 emissions target to Australia, which is comparable to Canada, Japan, and South Korea. This will be backed up by policies that support renewables and electric cars. And – subject to negotiations with Eastern Europe, whose turn it is – co-host a Cop climate summit with a Pacific island nation in 2024.

It has not pledged to stop the development of oil and coal for export. Labor’s international climate finance offer is underwhelming.

As the Australia Institute’s Richie Merzian writes, the country needs to start exporting the solutions to climate change, not the problem.

Targets alone are not enough. Justin Trudeau told us in 2015 “Canada is back”, only to preside over oil industry expansion and rising emissions.

The Albanese Administration will be judged by the climate world for its coal and gas projects cancelled, reductions in emissions, and money delivered to the frontlines.

This week’s news…

…and comment

There was more encouraging news from this week’s G7 climate ministerial in Berlin. These summits usually produce statements that reflect the lowest common factor. Sometimes, however, they inspire greater ambition.

Japan has agreed to language regarding fossil fuel finance, which should reduce its aggressive support of gas projects in Asia and elsewhere. It was the last country to refuse to decarbonize its electricity mix substantially by 2035.

Be sure to read the small print. However, the mood music is a good choice for a quicker transition to clean energy in Asia-Pacific.