Andrew L. Urban
While the Australian Academy of Science made a positive contribution to the inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg’s wrongful murder convictions, its submission on climate change is “totally unrelated to science,” says Prof. Ian Plimer.
The Academy’s latest submission (May 21, 2024) to the Climate Change Authority recommends that “five major actions relating to emission reduction should be undertaken.” Brief excerpts from the Submission:
- Australia’s reduction targets should be as ambitious as possible. The Academy continues to support an emissions reduction target of 74% below 2005 levels by 2030, with net-zero emissions reached by 2035
- Australia should measure its scope 3 emissions. The Australian government should stop all new projects to extract fossil fuel in Australia to phase out all extraction of coal and gas in Australia by 2035, the net zero emissions date.
- The Academy supports a target for greenhouse gas removal. The Academy’s 2023 submission called for Australia to announce a GHG removal target encompassing nature-based and technological solutions. This should be in addition to ambitious emission reduction targets.
- Adaptation and resilience building is an essential part of our response to climate change. The Academy’s 2023 submission called for early, comprehensive and coordinated consideration of the impact of policies on communities, including indigenous communities, disadvantaged communities, rural communities, and children/young people.
- International partnerships to manage climate change impacts. The Academy’s 2023 submission stated that Australia should be building partnerships of all types at multiple levels – scientific, technological, commercial, local, national and international (particularly our neighbourhood) – to make every possible attempt to manage effectively the impact of climate change here and overseas.
“This is a Green Party political document totally unrelated to science,” comments Prof Ian Plimer, the esteemed geologist, author and public speaker. “The language is that of political activists with no regard for the science and economy of Australia. There was clearly no geological input nor was there input from botanists who could have commented on the Academy’s wish to remove plant food from the environment.
“Until the Academy or any other organisation can provide half a dozen landmark scientific papers that show that human emissions of carbon dioxide drive climate change, then this climate activism cannot claim to be an expert opinion.”
Andrew L. Urban is the author of Climate Alarm Reality Check (Wilkinson)