Is the Australian coalition government suggesting we shouldn’t try to limit global warming to below two degrees?

The cost of doing nothing about climate change

"Not explicitly, but it is worth asking. 

One of the odd things about the Coalition’s analysis is that it is partly based on a World Bank-backed study that found global carbon prices in 2030 would need to be between US$50 and US$100 to limit global warming to two degrees. But it doesn’t acknowledge that the Coalition has also committed to the two degrees goal (and more) by signing the Paris agreement.

Should we also assume the equivalent of up to a US$100 carbon price under Coalition policies? Or is it walking away from its commitment to Paris?

Media reporting often focuses on the cost of climate policy while ignoring the other side of the equation – the cost of doing nothing. Several studies have suggested it is significant.

A paper in the journal Nature estimated warming of between two and a half and three degrees could cut per-capita economic output by between 15% and 25% this century. Four degrees would be worse again.

This sort of scenario is increasingly being considered and factored in by insurers and long-term investors, who say they want action to avoid it. Whether political leaders and newspaper editors are listening is another question."

Read The Guardian article