Page 178 - HỘI THẢO KHOA HOC 18.5.2022

he made headlines when he carried a piece of coal into the Australian Parliament and extolled the
coal’s value during a discussion on renewable energy sources with showman’s flair. Catastrophic
wildfires ravaged more than 44 million acres of land in 2019-20, claimed the lives of 34 people,
and forced the evacuation of nearly 3,000 houses.

According to the World Wide Fund For Nature Australia, about 3 billion koalas, kangaroos,
and other native Australian species were killed or forced to flee their homes because of the
wildfires. For example, the Great Barrier Reef, which is the world’s most extensive coral reef
ecosystem, has been ravaged by rising water temperatures to the point where it has lost half of its
corals in just 20 years.

Angry by the United Nations’ threat to degrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status
unless the country did more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Australia fought back hard and
narrowly avoided being designated as a World Heritage site after intense lobbying. Nonetheless,

according to a report presented at the COP26 session, Australia was placed last out of 60 nations
in its policy response to the climate catastrophe.
The position of incumbent interests in the oil, gas and coal industries has “unfortunately,
historically, dictated Australia’s climate policy, to some extent,” and this is why the country has
lagged behind its global peers, according to Christian Downie, an associate professor at the

Australian National University who specialises in energy and climate politics ahead of the
conference. At the same time, the country has begun to feel the effects of climate change, which
has contributed to an increase in demand from certain people for more immediate action.

According to a study conducted by the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank in Australia,
in May 2021, sixty per cent of respondents agreed that “global warming is a major and pressing
concern” that should be tackled immediately “even if it means incurring large financial expenses.”
The Climate Change Performance Index study stated that “the country’s lack of internal ambition
and action has found its way to the international scene.” “Australia has slipped behind its partners
in terms of technological advancement.”

Taylor’s spokeswoman stated that Australia’s government “rejects” the report’s “subjective”
findings because “it obviously overlooks critical facts and figures.” Taylor is the country’s
minister for energy and carbon reduction. Environmental activists have taken to the streets of
Glasgow to express their displeasure with the city’s lack of action.

“This is us reacting to the climate crisis,” two teenage climate protestors said in a live video
stream from the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle, Australia, on 17 November. The
demonstrators abseiled from massive machinery and declared in the video: “This is us responding
to the climate catastrophe.” According to Ritter of Greenpeace Australia, it is time for the country
to assert itself on the international scene. According to him, “Australia’s reckless climate
resistance is both bold and disgusting,” as he put it. “It violates our confidence and a betrayal of
our future.”

Report on the Status of the COP26 Commitments from Vietnam

Vietnam Briefing provides an update to review the progress of Vietnam’s pledge to net-zero
emissions at COP26, covering eight areas where the government is obliged to concentrate its

177