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Climate change Climate change

In the real world, however, the actual reduction of you do not pull something from the previous efforts and the
Australian greenhouse gas emissions is projected to be 14-16 previous regulatory framework to the next one.”
per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, rather than the official
target of 26-28 per cent. In order to “meet and beat” the PACIFIC OPPOSES CREDITS
Paris Agreement target, therefore, Australia must use some or Pacific governments have joined other developing states to
all of the Kyoto-era credits. condemn any use of Kyoto credits to reach Paris targets. The
2019 summit of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF)
AUSTRALIAN CHEATING in Nadi called on “relevant parties to the Kyoto Protocol to
The government’s policies on Kyoto credits are backed by refrain from using ‘carryover credits’ as an abatement for the
the coal mining industry, which is seeking to expand rather additional Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets.”
than reduce operations in coming years. The Minerals Council Last November at COP25 in Madrid, developing countries
of Australia has argued that “the use of Kyoto carryover tried to include new text into the rulebook for the Paris
credits has long been accepted and is allowable under the Agreement that would ban the use of Kyoto carryover
Paris Agreement”. credits. During the negotiations, this ban was supported
This argument, however, is ridiculed by legal experts. Last by three major negotiating blocs that include many Small
month, nine law professors wrote to Prime Minister Morrison Island Developing States: the Alliance of Small Island States
stating that there is no legal basis to meet half of Australia’s (AOSIS), the Least Developed Countries group (LDCs) and the
emissions targets by using carryover credits: “Our considered independent alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean.
view is that the proposed use of these ‘Kyoto credits’ to However, the UNFCCC negotiations work on consensus, and
meet targets under the Paris Agreement is legally baseless at these changes to the rulebook were not enacted in Madrid
international law. The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement – they’ll be discussed again at the next UNFCCC meeting in
are entirely separate treaties. There is no provision in the June and COP26 in Glasgow.
Paris Agreement that refers to the Kyoto Protocol nor to the In the final hours of the Madrid conference, Pacific
units established under it.” delegations joined Germany, France, Britain, and other
Politically, Australia is isolated from most international nations to condemn efforts by Brazil and Australia to weaken
opinion on this issue. While Russia and Ukraine have suggested carbon markets. New Zealand, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Cook
they might use these credits, all major OECD countries – Islands and Fiji were amongst a group of 27 countries that
Britain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, issued the ‘San Jose Principles for High Ambition and Integrity
Norway and others – have expressly ruled out their use. Last in International Carbon Markets.’ Amongst 11 measures,
October, Australian Department of Environment and Energy these San Jose principles expressly “prohibit the use of pre-
officials admitted to a Senate hearing: “We are not aware 2020 units, Kyoto units and allowances, and any underlying
of other countries that are intending to use carry over. Just reductions toward Paris Agreement and other international
Australia.” goals.”
Professor Frank Jotzo of the Australian National University’s Instead of reliance on past efforts, ANU’s Professor
Crawford School of Public Policy is a leading climate policy Frank Jotzo has called for new government-to-government
analyst. For COP25, Jotzo was critical of the proposed initiatives, creating a system with neighbouring countries for
use of Kyoto carryover credits: “We are the only country sharing the credit for bilateral initiatives to cut emissions:
planning to ‘carry over.’ Almost all countries that care are “Combined with meaningful action to cut emissions at home,
opposed to it. It reminds the world of the ‘Australia clause’ it would signal that Australian ingenuity can be used to
which the Howard government pushed through at the 1997 address climate change, not just for creative accounting.
Kyoto summit, allowing Australia to count land-use change As the developed country most affected by climate change,
reductions. It is what created the Kyoto carry-over credits in it is in our interest to lead by example, not to be seen as a
the first place.” recalcitrant.”
By themselves, Australian use of carryover credits wouldn’t The future of this debate is in the wind. The current global
break the Paris Agreement. However globally, there are crisis around the COVID-19 coronavirus involves economic
billions of tonnes of credits around the world generated and social effects that make the future of climate policy
during the Kyoto years. Many climate analysts are concerned hard to predict. Even so, governments around the world
that Australian efforts to water down its climate targets are adopting tactics that will be required to respond to
through accounting loopholes will only encourage other major the climate emergency; drawing on the advice of scientific
countries like Russia, Brazil and China to follow suit. experts rather than ideologies prioritising the health and
Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC executive secretary between wellbeing of citizens over existing priorities on debt and
2010 to 2016, visited Australia in March and accused the deficit, massive financial support to industries affected by
Morrison government of “cheating” on its emissions targets. the crisis, establishing “whole of government” taskforces and
“If you go as a tennis player to the Australian Open, and even governments of national unity.
you get your final score and your final standing, do you then Will we slip back to business as usual on climate policy, or
progress to Wimbledon and pick up the scores that you had will the experience of working together on COVID-19 provide
from the Australian Open? It just doesn’t make any sense,” a model for national and global co-operation in response to
she said. “It is not legal, it is not correct, it is not moral. It the ongoing climate emergency?
is cheating, period. When you finish one tournament – and
the Kyoto Protocol has finished – then you start the next. But nicmac3056@gmail.com

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