Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction minister Angus Taylor will attend the opening week of COP26, to promote Australia as a safe and reliable destination for investment in gas, hydrogen and new energy technologies.
Taylor will also present Australia’s strong track record in reducing emissions during high-level talks in Rome, Glasgow and London and meet with counterparts to advance Australia’s low emissions technology partnerships and to strengthen cooperation with countries in our region.
Australia is committed to a successful outcome at the global COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, he said.
“COP26 is an opportunity for all countries to come together to confront the challenge of reducing emissions while continuing to grow economies and create jobs,” Taylor said.
“Our approach is focused on developing solutions that will make net zero practically achievable for all countries. The most important legacy this summit could have is a genuine, global commitment to a step up in collaboration on the technology solutions needed to achieve net zero.
“Accelerating the development and deployment of new and emerging low emissions technologies is a way forward that all countries can unite behind. This week the Morrison government released our Plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We are backing this target with practical, responsible action and a clear plan to convert ambition into achievement.”
The federal government has communicated an updated and enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat. This will affirm Australia’s net zero emissions by 2050 target, the seven low emissions technology stretch goals set out in the Plan and commitment to meeting and beating the 2030 Paris target.
New forecasts released last week show Australia is on track to reduce emissions by up to 35 per cent by 2030, or up to a 38 per cent point-in-time reduction in 2030.
Between 2005 and 2021, Australia’s emissions fell by 20.8 per cent, outpacing the reductions of the US, Canada and New Zealand and every other major commodity exporting nation in the world.
Australia’s long-term emissions reduction plan will achieve net zero by 2050 while growing Australia’s economy, and providing the low-emission technologies and solutions that other countries need to achieve their own net zero ambitions.
“Our Plan will help position Australia as a new energy economy leader in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific,” Taylor said.
“Our Technology Investment Roadmap will guide more than $80 billion of total public and private investment over the next decade to accelerate low-emissions technology deployment.”
According to Taylor, Australia is playing a leading role in helping develop low-emissions technologies like clean hydrogen, ultra-low cost solar, carbon capture and storage, low emissions materials like steel and aluminium, energy storage and soil carbon measurement.
“Our focus is on getting new low-emissions technologies to parity with existing approaches – or preferably even cheaper – as soon as possible,” he said.
“This is the only way to make net zero emissions achievable for all countries.”