Activist-turned-diplomat Jennifer Morgan has dismissed arguments Australia needs to invest in more gas to help Asia decarbonise.
Germany’s international envoy on climate has called on Australia to support a push by Germany and the European Union for a phase-out of fossil fuels at the next UN climate summit, saying the world does not “have the time any more” to go slowly on emissions reduction.
“Of course, every country has to figure out its own plan. But to keep 1.5 degrees in sight, this is what we have to do. And if we don’t keep 1.5 degrees in sight and we go over that, the cost – I mean, the lives of people and the cost to our societies and our economies – it goes almost out of control.”
“As Australia moves into ... wanting to host COP31, which Germany has supported, really seeing how the Pacific’s needs and goals are front and centre, I think is key,” she said. “In Germany, the automakers are having to diversify and that’s what every country needs to do. So I think it’s in Australian national interest actually to bring that into its own domestic plans.”