Getting to net zero CO2 emissions globally means we can halt global warming. This requires a rapid phase-out. It’s physics With another set of global climate talks behind us, the Australian government faces some tricky tasks before it takes over negotiations at the next round of talks next year in Turkey. Cop30 in Belém, Brazil, did not deliver the bold fossil fuel phase-out roadmap we needed, but it did nudge the system forward with more scrutiny of fossil fuel producers. And despite the weakness of the outcome, one can gain some important comfort by the fact that Bélem – and the G20 in Johannesburg at the weekend – both solidly endorsed the Paris agreement, its central goal of keeping warming to 1.5C and the importance of net zero emissions. Cop30 agreed that an “ambition accelerator” will be needed to fill the gap between what governments are planning (projected to warm the world by 2.6C) and the agreed guardrails of the Paris agreement: a limit of 1.5C. It also, crucially, began the momentum for developing a roadmap for a just transition away from fossil fuels, with more than 80 countries – including Australia – signing the “Belém declaration” on a transition away from fossil fuels. While this declaration didn’t get support from the whole conference, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised to move forward on its implementation during the course of this year, until he hands over to Cop31 in Turkey. Continue reading...

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