Australia and Climate Change
Australia has had a lot of varied initiatives as responses to climate change, and each has had differing levels of success and failure. Take a look them below:
History
Due to the threats Australia is facing in multiple places, the Australian governments set up the Australian Greenhouse Office in 1998, the first government agency dedicated to climate change (however, it was later amalgamated into the Department of the Environment and Heritage).
The first major plans to combat climate change began in 2008 after the beginning of the Kyoto Protocol.
Actions
As plans began to move to protect Australia from climate change, one of the first actions taken was to introduce carbon pricing in 2012. Carbon pricing would enforce payments on producing certain amounts carbon dioxide, trying to discourage polluting practices and encourage renewable energy. However, the public took this initiative very badly, dubbing it "carbon tax" and it was repealed in 2014 after a devastating failure.
Australia has a Emissions Reduction Fund. The Emissions Reduction Fund works to set limits on carbon emission and provide incentives for emissions reductions activities. The fund has set forth a "Carbon Farming Plan" as of 2011, based a system of earning "carbon credits" when storing carbon properly or reducing emissions on land. These credits can be sold by people and businesses.
Australia had proposed the Reef 2050 Sustainability Plan in 2015. The plan sets clear actions, targets, objectives and outcomes to drive and guide management of the Great Barrier Reed. With input from the government, scientists, and communities, the goal is to preserve and repair the reef, and to keep it well until 2050, hopefully forever.
Finally, like both Canada and Germany, Australia has adopted the 2016 Paris Agreement as well.
Impact
Each action undertaken by the Australian government for climate change has had a different effect.
Evidently, carbon pricing was not a great idea and its impact was negative, failing to achieve before its dramatic fall. However, due to efforts of the Emission Reduction fund and the plethora of climate-oriented NGOs in Australia, carbon emissions from Australia have become restricted and began to fall. Legal action is being taken as well, and climate change is always on the mind of the Australian government. Australian plans for the Great Barrier Reef will be implemented by the Great Barrier Reef Ministerial Forum, and the plan will constantly updated every few years as things change, hopefully for the better.
Good luck to Australia's climate future!
Background
Australia, the country down under, has been suffering a lot from the elevated temperatures attributed to climate change. This has caused an increase in extreme weather events and in bush fires, threatening water security, agriculture, and infrastructure. Ocean levels rising, and pH levels dropping are threatening corals reefs, bleaching and degrading them.
Action needs to be taken!
Candles melting in Australia due to the heat
Tracking Austrlia's carbon emissions over the years.