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Sustainability Snippets: ASEAN-EU palm oil sustainability debate, Nestle Waters new pledge, Australia meat carbon neutrality and more feature in our round-up By Pearly Neo The ASEAN-EU palm oil sustainability debate, Nestle Waters new commitment, Australia s meat carbon neutrality and more feature in this edition of Sustainability Snippets.
Palm oil and sustainability disagreements have caused ASEAN-EU trade relations to sour even further over the past year with a potential trade war on the line, even as the UK has moved to soften its stance to cement better ASEAN relations post-Brexit.
Palm oil has become a major reason for stalled discussions in the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership joint working group, where so far not even a meeting agenda has been approved.
Tech-based carbon neutrality: Australian meat industry confident in achieving 2030 target amidst wider net zero debate The Australian meat industry has reaffirmed its commitment to its 2030 carbon neutrality goals on the back of new tools and technologies, even amidst the ongoing wider political debate regarding net zero emissions in the country.
Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stopped short of fully committing to net zero emissions for Australia by 2050 and former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack hinted that the country ‘could’ remove agriculture from any net zero emissions strategies, leading to debates over the country’s commitment to sustainability goals.
Over 190 United Nations countries were ranked on their efforts to tackle climate change last week, and Australia came in dead last.
The U.N.-backed Sustainable Development Solutions Network released the report, designed to assess progress on various international sustainable development goals.
Nordic nations Finland, Sweden and Denmark topped the rankings, followed by Germany, Belgium, Austria, Norway, France, Slovenia and Estonia in the top ten. Australia finished last behind developing countries like Somalia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Liberia, Afghanistan and even the embattled African nation of Zimbabwe, which has been plagued by political unrest and drought.
The results of the report prompted Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters to post on Facebook: “We are a global embarrassment”.
POLICY FORUM
8 July 2021
Nursing an ageing coal-powered energy engine-room and likely to face rapid falls in the price of coal exports, Australia needs a plan for energy transition, Fiona J Beck and Kylie Catchpole write.
Last month, the G7 leaders released a joint statement committing to net-zero emissions by 2050, and an “end to direct government support for unabated international thermal coal power generation by 2021.”
‘Abated’ power generation refers to when emissions are offset by carbon capture and utilisation or storage (CCUS). So far, CCUS for coal power generation has seen very little commercial success, despite substantial global investment, meaning this statement applies to the vast majority of coal power generation.