Australia Is About to Miss the Deadline to Ratify the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement, which requires countries responsible for a majority of the world's carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, is set to come into force on November 4. Unfortunately, Australia is yet to ratify the agreement in parliament—which means it isn't legally obligated to meet the emissions targets agreed at last year's conference.

According to the Climate Council, 85 of the 195 countries who took part in the Paris Agreement last December—including the United States, the entire European Union, and China—have passed legislation committing to achieving zero net emissions and limiting global warming to 2 degrees celsius. The agreement, which eliminates the use of coal, oil, and gas for energy needs, also commits developed countries to providing US $100 billion per year from 2020 to help developing nations cope with climate change.

While Australia signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, it has been slow to introduce legislation to parliament that ratifies it. A Paris Agreement bill is currently being examined by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, and is extremely unlikely to pass before Friday's deadline.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg will have to explain themselves at the first international climate meeting since the Paris talks, taking place in Morocco next week. A new report tabled by the Climate Commission, Towards Morocco: Tracking Global Climate Progress since Paris, provides a bleak look at Australia's climate inaction over the past year.

The Climate Commission report is critical of Australia's current ability to meet the Paris Agreement's 2030 emission reduction target. Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said Australia's performance compared poorly to those of other nations.

"Australia has taken no new concrete steps, legislative or otherwise, since Paris to pursue the goals of reducing our emissions or increasing renewable energy," she said.

"Countries like the US have taken major steps forward as President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made clear that clean energy is a big part of America's future economy and jobs."

Environmentalist Tim Flannery was also interested to see Australia's carbon emissions be put under international scrutiny. "The spotlight will be firmly on Australia in Marrakesh and not for positive reasons," he said in a statement that accompanied the Climate Commission's report.

"Our emissions are continuing to rise even as our most recognised natural asset, the Great Barrier Reef, was badly damaged this year by the worst coral bleaching event in history… And as the questions posed by countries such as the US, China and NZ demonstrate, there is serious doubt about our commitment to meet our already weak targets under current policies."

Meanwhile Turnbull took to Brisbane radio last week to argue that coal will be part of Australia's energy mix for "many, many, many decades to come." As he explained, any effort to "strangle the Australian coal industry is not going to do anything to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions."

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