German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan stresses greater climate action after Peter Dutton ditches Australia’s 2030 target
“The Paris agreement is predominantly about net zero by 2050, and that’s what we have signed up to,” Australia’s opposition leader, Peter Dutton, told 2GB radio on Tuesday, adding that there was no need to cut carbon emissions in a “linear way”.
Dutton has refused to commit to a 2030 emissions reduction target prior to the next national election, prompting claims from Labor, the Greens and independents that the Coalition is not serious about acting on the raging climate emergency.
Paris deal not just about meeting net zero goals by 2050
The 2015 Paris deal has been adopted by more than 190 countries, including the then-coalition government of Australia. It seeks to hold global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, is an important player in international climate negotiations. The country recently hosted the Bonn Climate Change Conference. Germany is working with Australia on a clean energy transition and the development of green hydrogen.
German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan has dismissed claims that the Paris agreement is just about reaching net zero emissions by the middle of the century, stressing that deep cuts by 2030 are “essential” and scientific evidence shows “this is the critical decade”.
1.5C goal is “a matter of life and death”
While being careful to avoid wading directly into the Australian political debate, Morgan highlighted before Guardian Australia the need for all countries to have strong 2030 targets as part of international efforts to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The latest comments add to the German climate envoy’s previous remarks, made during a visit to the Pacific in 2023, that “all countries have to scale up their ambition for 2030” because the 1.5C goal is “a matter of life and death for many people here in this region.”
