A senior US official has called on Australia and other countries not to back away from their 2030 climate commitments, insisting that they all have a collective responsibility for the planet we live in.
According to reports, the message from Australia’s top security ally contrasts with rhetoric from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, who claimed on Saturday the Labor government was “appeasing the international climate lobby” and “global climate activists”.
Dutton has refused to commit to honouring Australia’s pledge to cut emissions by 43% by the end of this decade if he wins the next federal election, despite warnings from experts that watering down the target would breach the Paris climate agreement.
A senior official from the US Department of State was quoted as saying that it was “absolutely important that we keep the 2030 targets viable” and said “far-sighted politicians” would be rewarded for “doing the right thing”.
The official was however careful to avoid intervening directly in an Australian domestic political debate, instead expressing the Biden administration’s view in global terms and setting out the economic and moral case against delaying climate action.
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Still, the comments will carry weight in Canberra as they reflect a clear view from Australia’s top security ally about ensuring “momentum stays in the positive direction” in tackling the climate crisis.
The US state department official, who asked not to be named in order to speak more freely, said that “everyone on the planet, Americans, Australians, Chinese” must do everything they could to keep the Paris agreement’s temperature goals alive.
The agreement aims to limit global heating “to well below 2C” compared with preindustrial levels, while countries also promised to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C.
It was adopted by more than 190 countries, including Australia’s then Coalition government, in 2015. Dutton has claimed Australia’s already legislated 2030 target is “unachievable”, which the government disputes.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
