There is a strategic logic to releasing this dire assessment just before the government announces its 2035 emissions reduction target, expected by the end of the week.
The report warns that the outcomes it outlines are not inevitable, but are its best assessments of what would happen if the nation failed to halt warming or adequately prepare for its impacts. It is ammunition for action. (And a shield against any Coalition campaign against the costs of acting.)
What remains to be seen is whether the government’s target is up to the challenge its own risk assessment presents.
The Climate Change Authority, under the leadership of former NSW Liberal minister Matt Kean, delivered its recommendations on the 2035 emissions goal on Friday. Its recommended figure is under wraps, but was expected to sit in the 65-75 per cent range.
The Herald has argued for ambitious targets. Too much time has been lost as politicians argue over the fact of climate change, which has been scientifically known for decades.
That we are now in a situation where holding warming to 1.5 degrees is considered a win, and planning for 3 degrees is a matter of due diligence rather than the stuff of fiction, is a profound regret for us all.
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