Queensland's current carbon emissions would "virtually guarantee the extinction of most of the Great Barrier Reef" within 12 years if replicated worldwide, according to a new report.
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| The report says Queensland must reduce emissions from electricity by 74 per cent by 2030. |
The report by Climate Analytics, a leading science institute funded by the World Bank, recommends Queensland stop burning coal for power by 2030 to play its part in keeping global heating to 1.5 Celsius under the UN's Paris Agreement targets, agreed to by Australia in 2016.
Climate Analytics found hitting the necessary emissions reduction target would spell the end of Queensland thermal coal exports by 2040, as part of a "rapid and almost complete global phase-out" of coal for electricity.
Queensland is Australia's biggest carbon-emitting state and will blow its total "carbon budget" of 1.2 gigatonnes by 2031 if its carbon dioxide emissions remain at their 2017 rate, the report found.
Read the ABC News story by Josh Robertson - “Queensland must rapidly ditch coal-fired power to meet Australia's emission targets, report finds.”
