Leaving Paris Without Saying Goodbye

Climate scientists say Australia has effectively left the Paris climate pact by abandoning a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

“They’ve walked away from Paris without saying it, hoping no one would notice,” says Lesley Hughes, a climate-change scientist at Macquarie University in Sydney. The backout came after an upheaval in the country’s ruling conservative Liberal Party over a policy that would have imposed emissions targets on electricity companies; Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would instead focus on cutting energy costs.

Australia’s upcoming national election could see the tide turn—the Labor party has pledged to slash emissions 45% by 2030, though it’s yet to lay out a plan.

Nature