Posted by 
Al Gore 'disappointed' by Australia's failure to update 2030 climate target
Former US vice president Al Gore says he is "disappointed" by Australia's failure to update a key emissions reduction target, calling on the country to do more to fight climate change.
The climate change action campaigner also criticised the country for not signing on to a pledge to reduce methane emissions agreed on the sidelines of the Glasgow climate summit.
"I was glad to see Australia commit to net zero by 2050," Mr Gore said at an Engineers Australia virtual conference on Tuesday, according to a description of his speech published by organisers.
READ MORE: Couple lose out on dream house and deposit after bank's mistake
"But I was disappointed that the 2030 target was not increased.
"I do think Australia should do more."
Almost 200 countries, including Australia, signed the Glasgow climate pact calling on nations to "revisit and strengthen" their 2030 targets, after almost two weeks of negotiations in Glasgow.
The Morrison government had come under pressure leading into the event, first to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but also to improve its 2030 goals.
The country's pledge to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent based on 2005 levels is a long way out of step with other rich developed nations and considered "highly insufficient" by Climate Action Tracker.
Mr Morrison told the COP26 conference Australia expected to reduce emissions by 35 per cent but even that "projection" is well below commitments from the United States, United Kingdom and European Union.
The Morrison government ruled out any change to 2030 targets shortly after the Glasgow pledge was signed and Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has since declared the "Nationals did not sign" the agreement.
READ MORE: 'Focused' search for William Tyrrell looking for 'disturbed ground'
"Australia's 2030 target is fixed and we are committed to meeting and beating it, as we did with our Kyoto-era targets," Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor and Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Sunday.
The government has also refuted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's characterisation of an agreement to "phase-down" — watered down at the last minute from "phase-out" — unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies as sounding a "death knell for coal".
"I don't believe it did," Mr Morrison said on Monday.
"And for all of those who are working in that industry in Australia, they'll continue to be working in that industry for decades to come, because there will be a transition that will occur over a long period of time.
"And I make no apologies for Australia standing up for our national interests, whether they be our security interests or our economic interests."
READ MORE: Men ward off crocodile, drink urine in 'horrific' three-day survival ordeal
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan called the conference outcome a "green light" to build more coal mines.
Despite his disappointment, Mr Gore sounded a positive note for the potential to arrest dangerous climate change, saying Australia had the "highest renewable energy potential per person in the entire world".
"With your help, we can drive the ubiquitous deployment of solar, wind, electric vehicles, batteries, hyper-efficiency," he said to engineers.
"We must deploy these technologies with speed and at scale, but we must do so in a way that ensures reliability."
Scientists say slashing emissions is crucial if the world wants to have any chance of keeping warming below 2 degrees and particularly the 1.5-degree warming the Glasgow pact aims to keep within reach.
A few of 13 scientists the Associated Press interviewed about the agreement said they saw just enough progress to keep alive the 1.5-degree limit — and with it, some hope. But barely, and many were sceptical.
The United Nations calculated that to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, countries need to cut their emissions in half by 2030. Emissions are now going up, not down, by about 14 per cent since 2010, United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa said.
Aminath Shauna, the Maldives' Environment, Climate Change and Technology has described the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees as "a death sentence for us".
– with Associated Press
