Turnbull leaves open idea of carbon credits to meet emissions target

The Turnbull government has left open the prospect of using international carbon credits to help meet Australia’s emissions reduction targets at lowest cost, a practice Tony Abbott ruled out when he was prime minister.

A less emissions‑intensive electricity sector could
‘also support reductions elsewhere’, the report says.

While Abbott used to characterise the trade of international credits as “money that shouldn’t be going offshore into dodgy carbon farms in Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan” – a new discussion paper, released on Friday, notes that “high quality international units could contribute to lowering the costs of meeting [Australia’s] 2030 target”.

The discussion paper is being used by the federal government to open a conversation about its heavily criticised Direct Action climate policy. The government established a review of the policy last December.

Read The Guardian story - “Turnbull leaves open idea of carbon credits to meet emissions target.”

Firms sign up to science based emissions targets

Ben & Jerry's are among those companies
that have signed up to science
based emission targets since December.

Metro AG, Toyota, and Ben & Jerry's among 41 companies who have signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative since December

A total of 155 firms, including household names such as Ben & Jerry's, Toyota, and Sony, have now signed up to a commitment to set emissions reduction targets in line with the global effort to keep warming well below 2C, the Science Based Targets initiative said yesterday.

The announcement means 41 new companies have joined the initiative since the UN climate conference in Paris last December, which saw a flurry of firms sign up in a bid to underline their commitment to supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Read the businessGreen story - “Over 150 firms now signed up to 'science-based' carbon targets push.”