How is Australia accelerating the climate crisis?
When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global heating. Australia is the world’s highest carbon emitter per capita among all wealthy countries and the third-largest exporter of fossil fuels. And our recent report revealed that the potential carbon emissions of overseas fossil fuel projects by Australian companies in low-income countries are actually increasing. Already the average global temperature has increased by 1C. Warming above 1.5°C risks further sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss and species extinction, as well as food scarcity, worsening health and poverty for millions of women and their communities worldwide.