WE’RE IMPORTING GOODS MADE FROM THE COAL WE’RE EXPORTING
Australia cannot claim to be making any headway towards meeting Net Zero while it continues to be in breach of principle 2 of the Rio Declaration. The Rio Declaration Environment and Development which was adopted on June 14, 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Principle 2. Of the Rio Declaration: ” States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national control”. This means consumers of imported manufactured goods and exporters of fossil fuels should be held accountable for their roles in the co-production of carbon dioxide emissions released at a “distance”. We are limiting the use of our own coal but are exporting it in ever increasing amounts overseas and buying the cheaper goods that are manufactured from it.
Delegates attending the Earth Summit which took place from June 3 to 14, 1992, and the Rio Declaration was one of the key outcomes of the conference, along with Agenda 21 and other agreements.
Australia could be indirectly responsible for nearly Two Billion Tonnes of exported GHG emissions by 2030.
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Most of goods we import have embodied carbon which should to be added to our total emissions tally. If they were taken into account we would be one of world’s highest emitters of CO2. I raised the issue with a councilor several months ago who said she knew nothing about the “emissions at a distance”. There are Councils that are run solely on political lines which make it difficult for voters and councilors when there is a lack of community consultation.
Dr Yuli Shan – a faculty research fellow in climate change economics at the University of Groningen – is also an author on the study. He explains that using consumption data ensures that carbon emissions are linked to the countries that use goods and services, rather than the countries that produce them. This is important, because “poor countries emit large quantities of CO2 due to the behaviour of people in developed countries”, he adds.
Concrete use in Housing alone accounts for more than 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with the high emissions primarily stemming from the manufacturing of cement, its key ingredient. The process of making cement, particularly the chemical reaction and high-temperature kilns needed to process limestone and clay, releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide. Concrete is just one of the many consumer essential products that will unavoidably continue to increase with population.