Leaders look to convert climate vows into action

Labor has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to dump the government’s direct action policy, saying it is inadequate and puts Australia on a trajectory to failure.

“The very nature of the Paris agreement was that the combined pledges of different countries added up to a 2.7C outcome or thereabouts and we argued for a process, so not just a Paris meeting but a Paris process, which would then have five-yearly reviews so as the world gets to and meets and beats the 2C target”, he told the ABC’s Radio National.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, meanwhile, said the deal indicates that there will be more job opportunities in the clean energy and renewables sector. “I think it’s a lot of hype about potentially nothing – basically countries set their own targets and there’s no enforcing strategy”, he said.

“Deeper cuts in emissions imply that Australia will also need to hasten the deployment of renewable energy, make more concrete steps to reduce usage of fossil-fuels, especially coal, and develop more robust, scalable and non-government funded carbon policy if the emissions reductions are to be achieved domestically”, he added.

Without the deal, global greenhouse emissions were on course to increase 10% by 2030.

Speaking from Perth to TODAY Show co-host Pete Stefanovic, Ms Bishop said she was pleased with the agreement, which nearly 200 nations signed in a pact, heavily negotiated across 13 days, to combat global warming.

Allowing the use of global units would create an option for the government to meet a tougher target at lower cost and without major domestic reforms.

The potential cost of emissions units under the new worldwide market mechanism that was agreed in Paris remains uncertain, as most of the rules guiding the new market have yet to be written.

The recent climate talk in Paris had gathered 195 nations to discuss resolutions about the issues of climate politics.

“If everyone in the world had goals as weak as Australia we’d be tracking toward a three or four degree world”, she said.

“The world has come together around an agreement that will empower us to charter a new path for our planet”, he said.