New Australian PM makes climate pledge

17 June 2022

Australia has formally pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions past 43% below 2005 levels past 2030. Prime number Minister Anthony Albanese said the authorities volition back up a transition to renewable free energy, only members of the shadow cabinet are signalling a willingness to include nuclear in the energy fence and a recent poll has found widespread public support.

Albanese signs Australia's NDC (Image: @AldoMP)

On 16 June, Albanese and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen conveyed Australia's updated Nationally Adamant Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Understanding to the executive secretarial assistant of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Modify. This formalises Australia'south pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and volition put information technology on runway to accomplish cyberspace zilch emissions by 2050, the authorities said.

Updating Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target honours an election promise, Albanese said. "The new target reflects my government's resolve to urgently pace up the footstep of action, and work alongside global partners … to tackle the climate crisis and keep 1.5 degrees within achieve," he said. "When Parliament resumes, we will move quickly to enshrine Australia'due south 2030 and 2050 targets in legislation, providing the certainty manufacture and investors take been seeking. Our Powering Commonwealth of australia plan will support the transition to renewable free energy, including investing in the transmission and storage needed to balance the grid."

Albanese became prime minister last month after leading the Australian Labor Party to ballot victory, ousting the Liberal/National coalition government led by Scott Morrison.

In the days post-obit Albanese's swearing-in, the new leader of the Australian opposition, Peter Dutton, said in a radio interview that he is "non afraid of having a discussion" on nuclear. "If we want to take legitimate emission reductions, if we desire to lower electricity prices, then that's exactly the path that President Macron has embarked on in France. That's what Prime Government minister Johnson is talking about in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland".

David Littleproud, the newly elected leader of the Nationals party - the junior partner in the opposition coalition - has as well chosen for Australia to consider nuclear free energy. "I've written to the Prime number Minister request him to consider nuclear power equally part of our energy mix," he tweeted before this month. "Tin can we brand it safe, affordable and reliable in Australia? We need to accept this chat and if opportunities exist - back ourselves."

Dutton has appointed as shadow government minister for climate modify and free energy Ted O'Brien, who has previously said that Commonwealth of australia should consider nuclear equally part of its energy mix. O'Brien was the chair of a parliamentary committee that in 2019 recommended the authorities consider a partial lifting of the current moratorium on nuclear energy for new and emerging technologies such as pocket-size modular reactors.

Growing support


A contempo poll institute that a majority of Australians support building nuclear power plants in Australia. The poll of g Australians was deputed by the Establish of Public Affairs (IPA) - which describes itself equally a "free market think-tank" - and took place in April. The results were published on 8 June.

Responding to the statement "Australia should build nuclear power plants to supply electricity and reduce carbon emissions", 53% of respondents agreed, 24% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 23% disagreed.

The poll also plant widespread back up for nuclear across political parties, with more agreeing than disagreeing that Australia should build nuclear for each party grouping including among Greenish voters where 44% said they support edifice nuclear plants and xxx% opposed. It as well plant more than people in support than opposing nuclear across all age groups and income groups.

Albanese and Dutton "should come up together and testify leadership to repeal the ban on nuclear ability in Australia, which can provide low-cost and reliable base-load power," IPA Director of Research Daniel Wild said. "The electric current energy crisis in Commonwealth of australia is a blueprint characteristic of a internet zilch emissions by 2050 target, that will simply be solved by reliable, affordable baseload ability from coal and nuclear.

"We need to accept a proper contend virtually nuclear ability and the cost of net zero to Australians living in the suburbs and regions in terms of their livelihoods, cost of living, and the long-term time to come of their local communities."

Researched and written past World Nuclear News