Australia has the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, nearly twice that of China, according to a new analysis presented at the 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow.
According to analysis by the British Brain Trust for Climate and Energy called Man (Embers), the world’s most prosperous countries remain the most populous emitter of greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants, according to The Guardian.
Australia is ahead: its annual per capita emissions are five times higher than the global average and 40 per cent higher than any other major coal consuming country. By examining the period since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, it was found that Australia emits 5.34 tons of carbon dioxide per capita annually, ahead of South Korea (3.81 tons), South Africa (3.19 tons) and the United States (3.08 tons) and is the largest emitter in the world, China (2.71 tons).
Citing the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mann emphasized that members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including Australia, would have to shut down coal power by 2030 if they were to contribute to 1.5°C of global warming. grades.
The Australian government, led by Scott Morrison, refused to do so and did not join the group of countries that pledged to stop burning coal.
Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the group headed by the late South African President for Peace and Human Rights, Nelson Mandela, and the gathering of world leaders, The Wise, said the potential of renewable energy is growing exponentially and OECD countries need to align with the goal of halting power generation that coal-fired by the end of the decade.
Sixty per cent of Australia’s electricity came from burning coal last year. This rate is gradually declining, and the country’s coal-fired power complex is constantly progressing, but the current schedule is for coal-fired power plants to remain in use until the end of the 1940s.
The Australian government came under heavy criticism in Glasgow for this. Apart from Australia, only Indonesia, Mexico and Singapore have decided to submit the same emissions targets under Cop26. The Morrison government has only agreed to cut emissions by 26-28 percent from 2005 levels, although it has previously suggested it could make a 35 percent cut. Scientists say global emissions should fall by 45 percent by the end of the decade.
Former Irish President Mary Robinson, chair of the Elders, says leaders in developing countries have shifted into a “crisis situation”, unlike many leaders who can go to great lengths to solve the problem. He has taken Australia under a hat along with Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China and Russia.
“Australia, this rich country is still in fossil fuel burning mode, not crisis mode,” he said.
