CMI Update
A remarkable May closed with Prime Minister Morrison re-affirming, in a joint statement with Kiwi counterpart Jacinda Ardern, “the importance of ambitious and practical action in pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees”.
As we’ll explore in our “Destination Zero and Beyond” Summit later this month, achieving this goal means much stronger policy action and both 2030 and 2050 commitments from all governments. This was emphatically reinforced by a game changing report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) which looked at what’s required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
There’s both stimulus and succour for the Morrison Government in the report’s finding that “most of the reductions in CO2 emissions through 2030 come from technologies already on the market today. But in 2050, almost half the reductions come from technologies that are currently at the demonstration or prototype phase. Major innovation efforts must take place this decade in order to bring these new technologies to market in time.”
The Federal Budget earlier this month had welcome taxpayer funded investments in developing emission reduction technologies as well as for local and regional carbon markets. Stronger climate commitments and signals to guide business investment this decade and to 2050 were noticeably absent.
Our Summit program has been designed to highlight the challenges and opportunities for business leaders in the transition to net-zero emissions. We will explore the accelerating developments in technology, terminology and transparency as well as the pressures from courts, community, science and investors. We have a stunning list of Australia’s political, business and community leaders and will, among other themes, investigate 2030 scenarios of success.
The Summit’s reputation as the premier business and climate event, as well as the sense of business momentum, has been highlighted by the tremendous level of business sponsorship for which we are grateful. This Friday’s Carbon Conversation, on the eve of World Environment Day, will open a window on some of the themes being explored backed by our Diamond Summit Partners ANZ, BP, GreenCollar and the Renewable Energy Hub.
We have been humbled by the growing interest in CMI and our work and welcome Rabobank, ENGIE Impact and the City of Sydney into our membership this month. We have significant work projects underway across the full carbon industry value chain. This notably includes moving the world’s first carbon industry code of conduct to fully operational status from 1 July. We are delighted to announce today the establishment of an Independent Review Panel to reinforce integrity, best practice and protections for farmers, consumers and native title interests.
Meanwhile preparations for COP26 continue. Overnight the UNFCCC intersessional meeting began, informally this year, as a key stepping-stone towards Glasgow in November. Developments from these negotiations and other areas like Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms are also on the menu for the Summit and I look forward to seeing you there – in person or virtually.
Stay safe,
John Connor
CEO
Carbon Market Institute
