Report maps out ways to reach climate targets and regenerate economy

Australia still has a chance to use existing technologies to tackle climate change and maintain living standards while creating new jobs, an exhaustive new study has found, but only if individuals, businesses and government act quickly to reduce emissions from every sector of the economy.

Australia can meet its international climate change commitments and create
jobs during the recovery phase from the coronavirus recessions, according
to a new report from ClimateWorks.

The report by ClimateWorks, called Decarbonising Futures, maps out in detail how Australia could go about achieving emissions reductions required across industry sectors to limit global warming to below 2 degrees, or to the more ambitious 1.5 degree target under the Paris climate agreement.

"If we get this right, we can meet Australia's international climate change commitments, create jobs in sustainable industries, and set ourselves up for a smoother and speedier shift to a zero-emissions economy," said Anna Skarbek, the chief executive of ClimateWorks, a policy advisory body housed in Monash University.

She said the coronavirus pandemic has made the need for immediate "all-in" action even more urgent as governments spend the coming weeks and months planning how they will stimulate their economies as the crisis passes.

Read the story from The Age by Nike O’Malley and Mike Foley - “Report maps out ways to reach climate targets and regenerate economy.”