Australia should set course for a 17% cut in emissions by 2020, in line with existing US commitments, and the world's discovery that abatement is cheaper than expected means all nations should ratchet up targets over the next few years, according to Ross Garnaut.
To avoid abrupt devaluation and stranded assets, coal mining companies should disclose forward estimates of their carbon emissions and investors and auditors must recognise that Australia's coal reserves can't be fully exploited, warns a new report.
The latest science shows the world faces catastrophic consequences from warming of an average four degrees by 2100 - and possibly much sooner, says a report released today by the World Bank.
With Labor's backing, Greens Leader Christine Milne has secured Senate support for a motion urging the Government to use this month's Montreal Protocol talks to seek a global 'phase-down' of hydrofluorocarbons – which are far more potent greenhouse gases than CO2.
Australian and international investor groups have demanded that oil and gas companies demonstrate that they are effectively controlling fugitive methane emissions, and they want intensive gas users to exert pressure as well.
