The accounting trick at the heart of the world’s climate goals

  • 📰 smh
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 76 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 34%
  • Publisher: 80%

Australia Headlines News

Australia Latest News,Australia Headlines

On paper we can offset our way to net zero. In the real world, we cannot.

Earlier this year, I was swimming laps to raise money for charity and I set myself a goal of a certain distance over the month.

But it got me pondering the philosophical question: if you swim 10 kilometres and someone else swims five kilometres on your behalf, did you really swim 15 kilometres? What about if you swim 10 kilometres and pay to release some fish in a river? Can you then count 100 kilometres?Net carbon accounting follows the same principle.

Presumably everyone knows that the goal of net-zero by 2050 is a net goal, since the clue is in the name. This is appropriate because it would be extremely difficult to get to zero and still do what we need to do to sustain human life and society without offsets to mop up the residual, impossible-to-abate, but necessary emissions.With appropriate technology, it might even be possible to move into net negative territory and reverse some of the damage we have done.

About one in five facilities that come under the safeguard mechanism met their obligations by surrendering ACCUs in 2022-23.reductions by 2035. Get that? He’s referring to on-site emissions, also known as in-house or direct emissions, that isit would go harder on direct emissions. Could state governments rewrite planning laws so they can refuse projects with an unacceptable emissions output, rather than allowing them to offset under the excuse of the emissions being too difficult to abate?Of course, a net target is far better than none at all, and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s suggestion last week to walk away from the 2030 goal but keep the 2050 goal is not credible policy.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in AU

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Ariarne Titmus breaks 200m freestyle world record at the Australian swimming trialsAriarne Titmus breaks the 200m freestyle world record to pip world champion Mollie O'Callaghan.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

T20 World Cup LIVE: Australia chase hat-trick against Namibia in AntiguaMitch Marsh’s side can make it three from three and progress with a game to spare at the tournament with victory on Wednesday morning.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

T20 World Cup LIVE: Australia chase hat-trick against Namibia in AntiguaMitch Marsh’s side can make it three from three and progress with a game to spare at the tournament with victory on Wednesday morning.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

How Australia’s swimmers compare to the rest of the world ahead of OlympicsIs the Australian swimming team heading to Paris as good as is being advertised? Here’s a look at the early numbers.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

Ireland v Pakistan: T20 Cricket World CupOver-by-over report: Get the latest news from the final Group A game with Tanya Aldred
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

How Australia’s swimmers compare to the rest of the world ahead of OlympicsIs the Australian swimming team heading to Paris as good as is being advertised? Here’s a look at the early numbers.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »