Australia pushed to increase climate change target

The Australian government is being called upon to increase its target for reducing emissions as its goal of five per cent is not deemed credible.

An independent body, the Climate Change Authority, says that the lower threshold for the reduction in emissions by the year 2020 should be raised to either 15 per cent or 25 per cent.

Both the Coalition and the previous Labor government have agreed on the same climate change targets of between five per cent and 25 per cent. Should the Coalition follow the advice of the authority, this will pose a challenge to its Direct Action Plan.

The plan was put forward to set out climate change targets and set out ways that Australia can achieve this. Another plan to reduce emissions was put forward by the Labor government in the form of the carbon tax, however the Coalition will be meeting in two weeks to decide whether to scrap this.

As well as potentially getting rid of the carbon tax, the Coalition is also planning to axe the Climate Change Authority. It is thought that the report in which it questioned the credibility of Australia's climate change targets will be its last.

The Direct Action Plan has had A$3.2 billion (£1.9 billion) invested in it and aims to reduce carbon emissions by offering grants to businesses, farmers and organisations who are hoping to do this. However, it is only designed to meet the five per cent target.

Analysts say that it will be difficult for Australia to even meet its five per cent target although Mr Abbott has said there will be no more funding.

Prime minister Tony Abbott has come under fire for failing to tackle the issue of climate change strongly enough.

Recently the head of the UN's Climate Change Secretariat, Christiana Figueres, said that bushfires in Australia and climate change could well be linked. These comments were shot down by Mr Abbott, although he did say that climate change does need to be tackled.