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Australia's Decarbonised Economy

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Australia’s economy is well established, with high greenhouse gas emissions per capita. Renewable and non-renewable energy resources are in abundance, and the high production of coal is only set to increase. In addition to being one of the leading exporters of coal, Australia is soon to become the world’s largest export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). (Pathways to deep carbonisation). These factors can be controlled by decarbonisation to bring Australia’s economy down from its intensely high emissions. So what might a decarbonised economy mean for Australia?

There are many potential pathways to decarbonisation, but one in particular covers all the important aspects. This pathway involves having ambitious energy efficiency, which leads to a …show more content…

A global effort is required to aid the world in reducing emissions to a limit of 2 degrees Celcius above pre-industrial levels.

Countries around the world have agreed that to avoid potentially dangerous climate change, global warming stay below 2 degrees C. This means that every country, including Australia will need to significantly increase their efforts to reduce emissions. Currently, Australia’s per capita emissions are among the highest in the world, however, there has been recent progress in decarbonising its economy. For example, greenhouse gas emissions have remained stable while economy size has almost doubled. (Pathways to deep carbonisation).

To decarbonise the global economy means to achieve sustainable development. To “understand and show how individual countries can transition to a low-carbon economy and how the world can meet the internationally agreed target of limiting the increase in global mean surface temperature to less than 2 degrees Celcius.” (Pathways to deep carbonisation) To achieve this limit, global net greenhouse gas emissions will be required to near zero within the next 35 years. This will demand a substantial transformation of all sectors of the …show more content…

This goal can be reached without drastic structural changes to the economy and with a minimal impact on Australian lifestyles. One way Australia could reduce emissions would be to switch from fossil fuel power to alternative sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear. Another could be developing new technologies and modifying the individual behaviours of each person to produce a much smaller carbon footprint. By achieving this significant reduction in emissions, Australia could reach zero net emissions by the mid-century.

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