Australia confident of meeting 2030 target of halving emissions per person: official
UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia, on track to meet and beat the 2020 Kyoto commitments, is confident of meeting its 2030 target, which represents a halving of emissions per person, a senior Australian official said here Friday.
"In February, Australian government announced a 3.5 billion Australian dollars (2.48 billion U.S. dollars) Climate Solutions Package to tackle climate change in Australia and to build momentum toward achieving our target under the Paris Agreement," Patrick Suckling, Australian Ambassador for the Environment, told a UN high-level meeting on the Protection of the Global Climate for Present and Future Generations of Humankind.
Australia's 2030 climate change target aims to reduce emissions to 26-28 percent on 2005 levels, which represents a 50-52 percent reduction in emissions per capita and a 64-65 percent reduction in the emissions intensity of the economy between 2005 and 2030, information on the website of Australia's Department of Environment and Energy shows.
While the Australian economy has experienced 27 years of economic growth, Australia has driven emissions per unit of GDP to its lowest level in 29 years, according to him.
"Our Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the world's largest green bank, has leveraged more than 21 billion Australian dollars (14.9 billion U.S. dollars) in low emissions technology investment; this is a demonstration of how we are making use of the opportunities created by the transition to a lower emissions, more climate resilient global economy," he said.
Emissions in our electricity sector are falling, driven by unprecedented investment in renewable energy, Suckling said, adding that Australia has one of the highest rates of uptake of residential solar in the world.
Australia is implementing its commitment of l billion Australian dollars (710 million U.S. dollars) in climate finance to 2020, with a particular focus on building resilience in the Pacific, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world, he said.
