Climate Department Confirms Missing Paris Agreement Will Result in No Penalties

Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Department has confirmed that there are no financial penalties for failing to meet Paris Agreement targets. At a recent budget estimate hearing, representatives from the Department reported that Australia’s carbon emissions were currently at 28 percent below 2005 levels, after a slight increase in emissions in the last two years. According to Kath Rowley, the head of the Department’s emissions reduction division, emissions rose by 0.4 percent from 438.4 million tonnes in the year to June 2022 to 440.8 million tonnes in the year to June 2024. She also noted that to meet the government’s target of reducing emissions to 43 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 under the Paris Agreement, Australia needed to cut emissions by 90 million tonnes of CO2 over the next six years....