Publications

CoverMarch2021us2.jpg SHIFTING THE BURDEN: Australia's emissions reduction tasks over coming decades Climate Targets Panel, March 2021 ABOUT THIS REPORT This is the second report of the Climate Targets Panel. Earlier this year, we published our findings about Australia’s required emissions reduction targets if we are to do our fair share in limiting global warming to well below 2° and 1.5°...

Authors : Kate Dooley and Sivan Kartha Abstract : This paper focuses on the risks associated with ‘‘negative emissions’’ technologies (NETs) for drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and storing it in land-based sinks or underground. Modelled mitigation pathways for 1.5 °C assume NETs that range as high as 1000 Gt CO2. We argue that this is two to three times greater...

Author : Graham Palmer Abstract : Electricity systems process and upgrade crude feedstock energy from the natural environment using high quality energy inputs, including diesel and electricity. The ratio of electricity output to the energy inputs is termed the energy-return-on-investment (EROI) and may be an important metric linking energy consumption and standard of living. Environmentally...

Authors: Anita Talberg , Peter Christoff, Sebastian Thomas, and David Karoly Abstract: Geoengineering—the deliberate interference in the climate system to affect global warming—could have significant global environmental and social implications. How to shape formal geoengineering governance mechanisms is an issue of debate. This paper describes and analyses the geoengineering governance landscape...

Authors : Richard J. Millar, Zebedee R. Nicholls , Pierre Friedlingstein, and Myles R. Allen Citation : Millar, R. J., Nicholls, Z. R., Friedlingstein, P., and Allen, M. R. 2017. A modified impulse-response representation of the global near-surface air temperature and atmospheric concentration response to carbon dioxide emissions, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17, 7213-7228, https://doi.org/...

Authors : Malte Meinshausen , Elisabeth Vogel , Alexander Nauels , and others. Abstract : Atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations are at unprecedented, record-high levels compared to the last 800 000 years. Those elevated GHG concentrations warm the planet and – partially offset by net cooling effects by aerosols – are largely responsible for the observed warming over the past 150 years...

Author : Graham Palmer Citation : Palmer, G. 2017. Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality 2(6) doi:10.1007/s41247-017-0022-3 Abstract : The contribution from variable renewable energy (VRE) to electricity generation is projected to increase. At low penetration, intermittency can usually be accommodated at low cost. High-penetration VRE will displace conventional generation, and require...

Authors: Tim Forcey, Dylan McConnell Abstract: With the publication of the 9 th March 2017 Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO), the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) cautioned that within 18 months, “shortfalls” of gas supply could lead to shortfalls in the supply of electricity generated by burning gas. AEMO suggested solutions to potential shortfalls that included the construction of...

Author : Graham Palmer Citation :Palmer, G. 2017. Energetic Implications of a Post-industrial Information Economy: The Case Study of Australia. BioPhysical Economics and Resource Quality ;2(2): 5. The article is available here Abstract : The potential for decoupling of energy and resources from economic growth should enable economic development while improving environmental sustainability...

Authors : Sonya Fiddes and Bertrand Timbal Abstract : Streamflows in key catchments across the State of Victoria, Australia, are projected into the future utilising a previously developed multiple linear regression. The regression uses a temporal range of rainfall and temperature parameters to compute monthly streamflows, and is applied to an ensemble of 22 statistically downscaled global climate...

Authors: Yann Robiou du Pont, M. Louise Jeffery, Johannes Gütschow, Joeri Rogelj, Peter Christoff & Malte Meinshausen Abstract : Benchmarks to guide countries in ratcheting-up ambition, climate finance, and support in an equitable manner are critical but not yet determined in the context of the Paris Agreement 1 . We identify global cost-optimal mitigation scenarios consistent with the Paris...

Authors : Alexander Nauels , Malte Meinshausen , Matthias Mengel , Katja Lorbacher, and Tom M. L. Wigley Abstract : Sea level rise is one of the major impacts of global warming; it will threaten coastal populations, infrastructure, and ecosystems around the globe in coming centuries. Well-constrained sea level projections are needed to estimate future losses from Sea Level Rise (SLR) and benefits...

Authors : Annabelle Workman, Grant Blashki, David Karoly, and John Wiseman Abstract : Reducing domestic carbon dioxide and other associated emissions can lead to short-term, localized health benefits. Quantifying and incorporating these health co-benefits into the development of national climate change mitigation policies may facilitate the adoption of stronger policies. There is, however, a...

Authors: Kate Dooley and Aarti Gupta 2016 Abstract: This article analyzes the contested politics of including (and accounting for) land-based mitigation in a post-2020 climate agreement. Emissions from land have been only partially included to date within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015 and “applicable...

Authors: Yann Robiou du Pont , M Louise Jeffery , Johannes Gütschow , Peter Christoff and Malte Meinshausen robiou_small.jpg Citation : National contributions for decarbonizing the world economy in line with the G7 agreement Yann Robiou du Pont, M Louise Jeffery, Johannes Gütschow, Peter Christoff and Malte Meinshausen 2016 Environ. Res. Lett. 11 054005 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054005 Direct...

Authors : Martin E. Wainstein and Adam G. Bumpus Abstract : Decarbonising the electrical power system holds a critical role in climate change mitigation. Recent developments in technology are helping change the current centralized paradigm into one of integrated distributed clean energy resources. In spite of these developments, radical transformation is not occurring at a speed to effectively...

Authors : Rachelle Meyer, Brendan R. Cullen, and Richard J., Eckard Abstract : Sequestering carbon (C) in soil organic matter in grassland systems is often cited as a major opportunity to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, these systems are typically grazed by ruminants, leading to uncertainties in the net GHG balance that may be achieved. We used a pasture model to investigate the...