IN A recent evidence-based report by the Climate Council called 'Unburnable Carbon: Why we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground' there are some stark findings.
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They found that "if all of Australia's coal resources were burned, it would consume two-thirds of the global carbon budget" and that 90 per cent of Australia's coal reserves are unburnable. It also found that the "Exploitation of Australia's Galilee Basin coal deposits is incompatible with effective action on climate change."
In addition the Australian Academy of Science has the goal of zero emissions by 2050.
Australia is already one of the highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide in the world and there are plans to open a new coal mine in the Galilee Basin, which is estimated to become (if burnt) the seventh largest source of carbon on the planet.
It's been reported that the Commonwealth Bank is in discussion with Adani to finance the Galilee Basin coal mining project and the associated Abbot Point coal port expansion on the Great Barrier Reef. This is out of step with the scientific evidence posing unacceptable risks to the climate and a World Heritage area. The mine is not only bad for the planet, it is a bad financial decision with risks of these assets becoming stranded. "Business-as-usual' is not a viable option for the fossil fuel industry in the long term" says Paul Spedding, oil and gas sector analyst at HSBC.
Traditional owners, the Wangan and Jagalingou people, have also rejected the proposal saying "If this mine proceeds, it will destroy every connection there is with our ancestors and our laws and customs."
If a wealthy and innovative country like Australia can't have the maturity to kick its adolescent addiction to carbon, what hope is there for the rest of the world?