The decision to set a range for Australia’s emissions reduction target – rather than a single figure – reflects “a number of uncertainties” in the country reaching its climate goals.
That’s what Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean said this afternoon, following a savage response from climate scientists to the government’s announcement of a new emission reduction target of 62 to 70 per cent on 2005 levels by 2035.
Climate Change Authority chair, and former Liberal treasurer, Matt Kean. Credit: Jessica Hromas
In an interview on ABC Afternoon Briefing, Kean – a former Liberal treasurer for the NSW Perrottet government – was asked whether the range was designed to increase support for the target.
“It was designed to ensure that what we put forward was in the national interest, and clearly, that needed to balance the science, with what was achievable,” Kean said.
“We had modelling from the CSIRO, we worked with Australia’s best scientists, and we built a ground-up model to see how far and fast we could go by 2035.
“The range reflects a number of uncertainties, and that there will be challenges along this journey. We have built in some flexibility to ensure we can deal with whatever is thrown at us.”
The target considers what is possible for Australia, factoring in every sector of the economy “doing its bit, based on the technology available to us today”, Kean said.
“Let’s hope there are surprises on the upside, that there are breakthrough technologies, but I wasn’t going to bet on things that did not exist,” he said. “That’s why this is a conservative approach which means Australia should be able to deliver on what we promise.”
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