Some of Australia’s biggest companies are planning for an unbearable climate future
Making sure big companies do their bit to reduce emissions is essential for Australia to meet its climate targets.
As Europe battles unprecedented fires and heatwaves, and a supercharged El Niño system approaches, Australia's biggest companies are forecasting a business-as-usual future in a much warmer world. In 2022, Australia introduced mandatory climate reporting for companies, requiring them to disclose risks and opportunities. Several major energy and resource companies have now published new sustainability reports as part of their annual financial reporting.
Their disclosures reveal their climate future plans, aligning them with international targets like the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C warming threshold. Most of these companies are planning for more than 2°C of warming, a threshold scientists say would create an unbearably hot planet. Energy companies AGL and Origin Energy claim their strategies will remain robust even if temperatures exceed 2.6°C, risking severe consequences for the Australian economy, environment, and community.
The assumption that business-as-usual will be feasible in a hotter world contradicts the latest scientific consensus, which strongly recommends limiting warming to 1.5°C with "limited overshoot." Companies' plans for business-as-usual production in coal and other sectors are out of step with current scientific knowledge about the safety of global warming.
Although there's no legal issue with companies planning for a base case exceeding 2°C of warming, this approach conflicts with Australia's international legal obligations. Australia must take the most ambitious climate action possible to comply with the Paris Agreement and minimize irreversible climate changes.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
