Choose Your Climate Future

Global warming, caused by carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, is having a huge impact on the world around us. It isn’t just affecting the polar ice-caps, it’s impacting the people and places we love.

See how your world could change as global temperatures increase.

Choose Your Climate Future

Working out what Australia needs to do to live in this world

Choose Your Pollution Future

The carbon pollution targets needed for the Australia you chose

°C+ Pick another
Making it fair Your target About your target Government targets
 
Click the plus signs to find out more
                             

Instructions

  • Choose to limit global warming to 1.5°C, 2°C or 3°C+
  • Use the left and right arrows and headings above to move between different parts of Australian life from home, community, sports, farming, the environment and the beach
  • Click on the + signs to find out more about how each area is being affected now and into the future
  • Find out how much we need to cut pollution to keep within that level of global warming
Close

Close

Global warming is a global problem and every country has to do its share to reduce the carbon pollution that’s causing it. So how do we work out what Australia needs to do?

Agree on a global carbon pollution budget to stick to

To keep global warming below °C by the end of the century, the world can’t pollute any more than gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. From 2010-2013, the world polluted over 100 gigatonnes in just three years. To stay within the budget, strong global targets are needed to cut pollution.

Divide the carbon pollution budget up between countries

A range of factors can decide what each country’s share of the budget is, like:

  • How easy is it for the country to reduce carbon pollution, like how wealthy a country is?
  • How much carbon pollution has the country polluted in the past?
  • At what stage in development is the country’s economy?
  • Amount of carbon pollution per person?

Set pollution cutting targets for Australia

Australia is a wealthy country that has polluted a lot in the past, and we have a strong capacity to cut carbon pollution.

Based on these factors, we chose that to keep global warming below degrees, Australia’s fair share of the global carbon budget is gigatonnes of carbon dioxide.

Agree on a global carbon pollution budget to stick to

To keep global warming below °C by the end of the century, the world can’t pollute any more than gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. From 2010-2013, the world polluted over 100 gigatonnes in just three years. To stay within the budget, strong global targets are needed to cut pollution.

Divide the carbon pollution budget up between countries

A range of factors can decide what each country’s share of the budget is, like:
  • How easy is it for the country to reduce carbon pollution, like how wealthy a country is?
  • How much carbon pollution has the country polluted in the past?
  • At what stage in development is the country’s economy?
  • Amount of carbon pollution per person?

Set pollution cutting targets for Australia

Australia is a wealthy country that has polluted a lot in the past, and we have a strong capacity to cut carbon pollution.
Based on these factors, we chose that to keep global warming below degrees, Australia’s fair share of the global carbon budget is gigatonnes of carbon dioxide.

You’ve chosen to keep global warming below °C, which needs strong pollution reduction targets over the next 15 years. The graph below shows the targets you want, compared to WWF’s recommended targets and what the Government has promised.

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
25% less pollution than in 2005
30% less pollution than in 2005
5% less pollution than in 2005
40% less pollution than in 2005
45-55% less pollution than in 2005
Estimated target of 20% less pollution than in 2005
60% less pollution than in 2005
65-85% less pollution than in 2005
26-28% less pollution than in 2005
You
WWF
Gov
Gov
Pollution reduction by 2020
2020
You
WWF
Gov
Gov
Pollution reduction by 2025
2025
You
WWF
Gov
Gov
Pollution reduction by 2030
2030

Your target means Australia will need to keep carbon pollution within more gigatonnes of carbon - our share of the global carbon budget.

To stay within budget, we will need to set the following pollution reductions targets:

  • By 2030, we will need to reduce carbon pollution by 65% of what we were polluting in the year 2005
  • And before 2050 we will need to achieve net zero carbon pollution

To stay within budget, we will need to set the following pollution reductions targets:

  • By 2030, we will need to reduce carbon pollution by 55% of what we were polluting in the year 2005
  • And by 2050 we will need to achieve net zero carbon pollution

To stay within budget, we will need to set the following pollution reductions targets:

  • By 2030, we will need to reduce carbon pollution by 40% of what we were polluting in the year 2005
  • And after 2050 we will need to achieve net zero carbon pollution

This means Australia’s overall balance of carbon pollution will need to be zero before 2050. Although some pollution may still be ongoing at this point, on balance pollution will be zero because of other activities which help to remove carbon from the atmosphere (such as reforestation both in Australia or through investments in other countries)

Back Next

Countries around the world are setting strong carbon pollution reduction targets as part of an international approach to tackling global warming.

The Government’s pollution reduction target of 26-28% by 2030 is one of the weakest in the world, putting Australia at the back of the pack. If all countries matched Australia’s 2030 target, the world would be on track to warm between 3 to 4 degrees.

Back