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How Australia's net zero pledge lines up

Tracey FerrierAAP
The UK says it will not burn coal to generate electricity after September 2024.
Camera IconThe UK says it will not burn coal to generate electricity after September 2024. Credit: AAP

What the United Nations wants the world to do and what Australia, comparable developed countries, and China are promising ahead of the COP26 climate summit:

THE UNITED NATIONS:

* The UN says nations must collectively cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 on the way to net zero emissions by 2050

* Current pledges are insufficient. By 2030 global emissions will be 16 per cent higher than they were in 2010

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* Unless things change the world will fail to cap warming at 1.5C and ward off the worst effects of climate change

* Wealthy nations must do more to divert the world from a "catastrophic pathway" towards 2.7C of warming by the end of the century

AUSTRALIA:

* Australia on Tuesday joined other nations in promising to achieve net zero emissions by 2050

* There will be no legislation or mandates attached to the target and the government has promised "it will not shut down coal or gas production"

* Australia has refused to formally increase its 2030 target, which was set in 2015 and promises to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels

* But the Morrison government has promised to provide updated projections at COP26, indicating it will achieve cuts of 30 to 35 per cent by 2030

* That is still well below the collective 45 per cent cut by 2030 the UN says the world must get to

* Australia says it will decarbonise its economy while also continuing to export coal and gas "through to 2050 and beyond" and for as long as demand persists

THE UNITED KINGDOM:

* The UK, which is hosting COP26 in Glasgow, goes into the summit with one of the world's most ambitious 2030 targets

* It has pledged to cut emissions to at least 68 per cent below 1990 levels by then, and by 78 per cent by 2035

* The UK passed laws in 2019 committing itself to net zero emissions by 2050

* UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says a key priority of COP26 is to to get "all the countries in the world to move off coal".

* The UK will not burn coal to generate electricity after September 2024

THE UNITED STATES:

* President Joe Biden recommitted the US to net zero emissions by 2050 when he took over the presidency in January

* He goes into COP26 having promised to cut emissions by 50 to 52 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030

CHINA:

* China, the world's largest emitter, has set a target of reaching net zero emissions in 2060, a decade later than many

* It has also committed to reaching peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and has said it will stop financing coal projects overseas

* But it has also ordered its major coal-producing regions to increase output after rolling blackouts crippled factories earlier this year, raising concerns its targets might change

* In recent days, China said fossil fuels would be providing less than 20 per cent of its energy mix by 2060.

JAPAN:

* Japan has promised to reach net zero by 2050

* Ahead of COP26 it has pledged to cut emissions by 46 per cent by 2030, below 2013 levels

CANADA:

* Canada is committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050

* Ahead of COP26 it has increased its target for 2030, to 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels

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