Australia Submits more Ambitious 2030 Emissions Target to UN

Despite being ravaged by floods, fires, and droughts, Australia has long been seen as a laggard on climate action Muhammad FAROOQ AFP
Despite being ravaged by floods, fires, and droughts, Australia has long been seen as a laggard on climate action Muhammad FAROOQ AFP
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Australia Submits more Ambitious 2030 Emissions Target to UN

Despite being ravaged by floods, fires, and droughts, Australia has long been seen as a laggard on climate action Muhammad FAROOQ AFP
Despite being ravaged by floods, fires, and droughts, Australia has long been seen as a laggard on climate action Muhammad FAROOQ AFP

Australia's new center-left government submitted more ambitious emissions targets to the United Nations Thursday, seeking to end a decade of foot-dragging on climate change.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised the country's 2030 emissions reduction target to 43 percent, up from a more modest previous target of 26-28 percent, AFP said.

The new goal "sets Australia up for a prosperous future, a future powered by cleaner, cheaper energy," Albanese said.

Despite being ravaged by floods, fires and droughts, Australia has long been seen as a laggard on climate action.

The vast continent-country is replete with fossil fuel deposits and is one of the world's top exporters of coal and gas.

Coal still plays a key role in domestic electricity production.

In 2022, MIT ranked Australia 52nd of 76 nations on its Green Future Index, which rates how much countries are shifting towards an environmentally sustainable economy.

- The 'climate wars' -But Albanese made emissions cuts a centerpiece of his recent election campaign and pledged to "end the climate wars" that led to decades of policy stasis.

Albanese sought to frame the decision as an economic boon: "What business has been crying out for is investment certainty," he said.

The Business Council of Australia welcomed the raised targets, saying they "should be a line in the sand."

"Australia can't afford to stall progress again because failure will see Australians miss out on new opportunities, new industries and better jobs," the council's chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

- 'Seize the opportunity' -Albanese said Thursday that world leaders had "all welcomed Australia's changed position" on climate action during his conversations with them since taking power last month.

The issue of emissions reduction and fossil fuel exports was a key point of tension between Australia's previous government and Pacific leaders, who have labelled climate change the greatest threat to their region.

Albanese tried to sidestep criticism that higher targets could harm Australian jobs saying he wanted to "seize the opportunity that is there from acting on climate change".

The new targets would give business the certainty it needed to "invest over a longer time frame than the political cycle of three years," he said.

But he has so far refused to set a deadline for phasing out coal, in line with other rich countries.

Even before the announcement, Australia's fossil fuel industry was in flux with many major companies seeking to decarbonize their operations.

On Wednesday, global miner BHP announced it had been unable to find a buyer for its coal mines in the Australian state of New South Wales and would instead close the project by 2030.

The news came just a day after fossil fuel giant BP announced it would take out a 40.5 per cent stake in a renewables project in Australia, billed as the largest power station on earth.

Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP's executive vice president of gas and low carbon energy, said the company believed that "Australia has the potential to be a powerhouse in the global energy transition".



WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The head of the World Health Organization said on social media platform X on Thursday he had been discharged from a hospital in Rio de Janeiro after being admitted overnight.

"I felt unwell yesterday afternoon and was admitted to Samaritano Barra Hospital in Rio, but I was discharged this morning and am back to work," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Tedros, 59, suffers from hypertension. He was in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit where he met with US President Joe Biden and other leaders, advocating for strengthened global cooperation in health emergencies.

Local newspaper O Globo had reported earlier on Thursday that Tedros sought medical attention at the facility with "symptoms of labyrinthitis and an hypertensive crisis," after showing signs of being unwell.

According to the report, Tedros was examined on Monday by health professionals on duty at the G20 summit and given medicine for high blood pressure, but was released once he was stable.