The issue of Global climate change is one of the utmost economic, social, and environmental challenges of this century. Analysis shows that greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for changes in the pattern of climate around the Globe. “Global pollution creates a “public bad” born by all – a negative externality with a wide impact” (M.Harris, 2002).
Australia is considered to be the driest populated continent in the world and faces stern drought and water shortages. Reducing carbon emissions is challenging for Australia, although the Government realizes that meeting this challenge is important and commits to reducing the level of pollution caused by greenhouse gases in Australia, and voluntarily preparing for an altered climate in the
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The Government aims to reduce emissions to 60% lower than 2000 levels by 2050, and its medium term target ranges between 5 and 15% below 2000 levels by 2020. According to the government, Australia needs to reach an universal agreement so that atmospheric contents of greenhouse gases can be stabilized at around 450 parts per million of CO2E (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent).The government has realized that to achieve this global commitment with such action is going to be challenging in the future. The medium term targets set by Australia are quite similar to that of many other countries that have announced their targets. For example: the European Union (Pope, 2009).
The working of the ETS is mainly based on emitters of any six greenhouse gases who acquire a permit for each tonne of gas they emit. There is monitoring, reporting and auditing done on the total amount of emissions the industries produce. During the end of every financial year, each firm surrenders a permit for each tonne of emissions they produced during that year. Limited amounts of permits are issued by the Government every year and entities compete to buy the amount of permits they need. The permits are mostly auctioned or traded in the secondary market and firms who consider the permits of high value pay a lot for them. Reducing emissions than buying permits is a convenient choice for smaller firms. Few other firms are allocated free
In recent years , there is a colossal upsurge in the number of environmental concerns with climate change being a pivotal one. Although convergent efforts, be it an individual , company or a government, are made to ease this concern. I think government play a vital role in this regard.
Limiting emissions requires broad-based action across many sectors of the global economy. Australia’s air temperature has risen 0.9°C since 1910, illustrating the Global Warming due to the emissions of greenhouse gases. Australia has numerous initiatives that provide its population with tips on how to help the environment. Unlike many industrialized nations Australia is still heavily reliant on Non Renewable Resources such as coal. Australia and Japan have both signed the Kyoto Agreement which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Japan signed it in 2002, whereas Australia signed it in 2007. The time of which both countries signed, illustrates that Japan was more acceptable and ready for such a scheme and to do something about greenhouse gases. Japan was ranked 12th out of 176 countries in a 2013 Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index. Japan ranked 4th in Sustainable innovations which entails providing quality education, cultivating research and development, creating globally competitive products and services, and providing jobs and income for the population of a country recognised as environmentally sustainable. Although Japan has achieved this position, the country has a substantial amount of air pollution from power plant emissions which results in acid rain. The acidification of rain damages lakes and reservoirs whilst degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life.
In 2013, the Obama Administration issued the Climate Action Plan to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 % reduction below 2005 levels by 2020. This plan’s three objectives were carbon reduction, strengthening capacity for climate change response, and leading international cooperation for climate change crisis (White House, 2013). To reduce the
A solution to this inefficiency is direct regulation whereby the government tells the company how much it is allowed to pollute. This is known as a pollution permit – the Government give out the legal right to admit carbon to the atmosphere. Another solution is known as the command and control strategy – whereby detailed regulation of technology leaves polluters little choice in how to achieve the environmental goals. One other policy which is seen to be the most efficient, is imposing emission fees known by economists as a Pigovian tax. Under a system of Pigovian taxes, the government charges for the damage done by polluting. By doing so it converts the external cost into an internal cost (internalizes the externality). According to the article “Equilibrium Pollution and Economic Development in China” there is one such levy system in place whereby it formally requires that a fee be paid by any enterprise whose effluent charge exceeds the legal standard. This has been proven in the article to be an effective way of regulating pollution. This implementation of the tax can be shown in the diagram below.
The majority of scientific evidence suggests that over the last century humans have begun to have a discernible influence on the world's climate, causing it to warm. There is substantial evidence to indicate that significant global warming will occur during the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to dramatize the impact climate change could have on Australian society if we are unprepared for it. In discussing the future of the planet, climate change, caused by increased abundances of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, has been a serious cause of concern. Several studies have suggested that climate change can lead to mass-fatality disasters, international migration leading to tensions and conflict, resource shortages, infectious disease, terrorism and rising-sea levels and drought causing immense economic nuisances, all of which have the potential to harm Australia’s national security.
I have researched about climate change in Australia and take this as an example for the same situation of other countries. Australia is a unique and diverse country in every way – in culture, populations, climate, geography, and history. It is home to more than one million species of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the world, and less than half have been described scientifically. However, Australia is an exceptionally large polluter. It is the highest per person greenhouse gas polluter among all developed countries, the 15th highest overall polluter and our emissions are still rising. Most of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels for energy about 72%. When oil, gas or coal burns,
This essay has outlined all the current positive aspects of Australian society, but we need to address the future and the sustainability of our environment for our grandchildren. The federal government is addressing this issue by introducing a carbon-trading scheme. This carbon trading scheme, where the tax on carbon producing goods and services go into a positive influence on the environment, for example planting trees. The Australian government is following leads by other countries in this circumstance.
Climate change is evident throughout the world and is a major issue. It is no secret that our planet is getting warmer. Global warming is now recognized in the scientific community as a real problem. There are multiple aspects that are causing this issue. Majority of the warming is caused by greenhouse gases. Volcanic eruptions and changes in the intensity of solar radiation have offset the warming partially. It is estimated that average annual temperatures will increase 3.5°F-9.5°F by the century’s end.
Climate change is influenced by the greenhouse effect which is the increase of Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide. On one hand, the presence of these gases in the atmosphere make the earth habitable with respect to regulating the earth’s temperature. However, an increase in the concentration of these gases results in trapping energy in the atmosphere and this in turn increases earth’s temperature. “Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown since pre-industrial times, with an increase of 70% between
After Al gore’s visit to Australia he noticed that the Australian national government’s pledge to climate change by 20/20 (cutting 20% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and the closure of Hazelwood’s coal fire power plant), kept being put off as the Liberal Government continuously over turned decisions made by the Labour party. Al Gore decided then to take action on climate change in Australia himself resulting in a plan B to help reduce greenhouse emissions, so he turned to the state governments and city councils for
Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make
This will allow me to collect qualitative data about each community in order to determine how they view climate change and what solutions they pose. In total, I plan to survey about 20 individuals in both Larrakia and the Charles Darwin University. These interviews will last 45 minutes to an hour. I will, with permission, record each interview with a tape recorder in addition to taking handwritten notes. A challenge that may occur during the interviews is the amount of knowledge the participants have on current sustainability laws and programs in Australia. They may not be well versed in such policy matters. Additionally, depending on what the students at the university are studying, they will have varying knowledge on climate change and policy. To alleviate this problem, I will provide a brief overview about the different initiatives Australia has taken to combat global warming before each interview.
NGS integrates greenhouse into other major policy initiatives, such as the Natural Heritage Trust, and launches new measures to increase greenhouse emission reduction activities across the Australian community. It provides the strategic framework for an effective greenhouse response and for meeting current and future international commitments. It will provide a fresh impetus for action by governments, stakeholder groups and the broader community and set directions for that action into the next century.
Global warming is the environmental and social changes caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. Human activities have been the primary cause of this significant change, resulting with extreme weather conditions, increasing sea levels, and climate changes. In this paper I will compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes of global warming, mitigation strategies, mitigation effectiveness, policy implications, costs, and address some policy changes to help stabilize global climate.
The UK’s Climate Change Act and participation in the Paris Agreement, has been put into place to ensure the UK plays its part in reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses into our environment. The UK, in particular, has committed to reducing its emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050 and must adhere to strict self-set Carbon Budgets until 2030. In order to meet targets set by the Paris agreement, by 2070 there must be no anthropogenic CO2 input, thus we need to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere, a more common term for this is negative emissions (James R, 2017). There are several ways of going about this, in this essay we will be