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Australia’s emissions up, not down

Australia’s emissions have been rising, the prime minister has admitted.

May 07, 2019, updated May 07, 2019
Scott Morrison says Australia is on track to meet its Kyoto 2020 target despite emissions rising.
Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins

Scott Morrison says Australia is on track to meet its Kyoto 2020 target despite emissions rising. Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins

“Yeah they have lifted,” Scott Morrison told ABC’s 730 program on Monday night.

But he insists Australia is on track to meet its Kyoto 2020 target, which calls for emissions to be five per cent below 2000 levels.

Morrison says investment in renewables has been increasing and spruiked his recent investment of $3.5 billion towards climate policies.

The money will go towards the Climate Solutions Fund, invested in business energy efficiency, as well as projects such as Snowy Hydro 2.0.

“That’s what we’re doing, that’s how we meet our targets,” the prime minister said.

His admission comes as a new report warns that major change is needed globally to prevent further environmental destruction, with one million species currently at risk of extinction.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services global assessment reveals nature is declining at rates previously unseen in human history.

Frogs, big cats and birds are at great risk of extinction and change is needed within decades, the authors warn.

The report, which is based on 15,000 scientific and government sources, says the biggest drivers of environmental destruction are changes in land and sea use, exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive species.

– AAP

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