Right now, Australia is broadly on track to meet our national target of reducing climate pollution by 43 per cent this decade.
But methane levels are now the highest they’ve been in 800,000 years, and Australia is “turbocharging global warming”, the Climate Council reports.
The Briefing reports how Australia is failing to pull its weight in reducing global methane emissions in today’s episode, ‘Who will be Kamala’s VP’:
Climate Councillor Professor Lesley Hughes said, “Australia is alarmingly overrepresented in global methane emissions.”
“Producing four to five times more methane per person than the global average,” Hughes said.
Methane has been responsible for 25 to 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times.
The Briefing host Sacha Barbour Gatt said, “Most of the problem in Australia comes from agriculture, think cows farting.”
There are calls for the government to incentivise farmers to cut methane emissions and promote sustainable protein alternatives.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on LiSTNR today. The Briefing serves up the latest news and deep dives on topics affecting you, all in under 20 minutes.