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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Environment
Adam Morton Climate and environment editor

‘Missing half the equation’: scientists criticise Australia over approach to fossil fuels

Bayswater coal-fired power station in NSW Hunter Valley region
Bayswater coal-fired power station in NSW. A new Climate Council report says the country should be aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2035, and no later than 2040 – much sooner than the current 2050 goal. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The Australian government is “missing half the equation” in acting on the climate crisis by backing a shift to renewable energy but having no plan to get out of fossil fuels, according to an author of a new scientific review.

Prof Lesley Hughes is a leading climate change scientist and member of the independent Climate Council and government advisory body the Climate Change Authority. Hughes said there is a “cognitive dissonance” between Labor’s stated commitment to addressing the problem and the pace at which it is moving.

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