Australia’s Climate Policy

​​← Australia's Political Leadership​

The overwhelming scientific position is that human activity is contributing to global climate change. The political disagreement increasingly concerns how Australia should respond, how quickly emissions should be reduced and how the economic and social costs of the transition should be shared.

Supporters of Net Zero argue that Australia has a responsibility to reduce its emissions, protect future generations and participate in the global transition towards cleaner energy.

Critics argue that Australia contributes only a relatively small share of global emissions and that Net Zero policies may increase energy costs, weaken industries and produce limited environmental benefits unless major emitting countries take comparable action.

Question:

To what extent do you agree or disagree that human activity is contributing to climate change and that Australia should remain committed to achieving Net Zero emissions?

​(Agree/Disagree →)

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Open Democracy Perspective

Climate policy is often reduced to a contest between opposing political camps. Open Democracy provides a structured way to identify areas of public agreement, genuine disagreement and changing community priorities while still drawing upon scientific and economic expertise.