A senior UN official has warned the climate crisis will “wreak havoc” across the Australian economy if coal is not rapidly phased out.
Slewing Hart, the UN’s assistant secretary general for climate action, believes wealthy countries should phase out coal by 2030 and, “if adopted this would leave nearly a decade for Australia to ensure a just transition for its coal workers and others affected.”
The latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change found emissions were already affecting the weather and climate extremes.
Australia’s average temperature has increased by about 1.4C since 1910.