Contributed by Jim Hayes

The future viability of the coal industry is looking even bleaker with China’s new policy the European Union’s new carbon emissions target.

China’s President Xi Jinping surprised the global community recently by committing his nation’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2060.

China accounts for 28% of global carbon emissions, and a cut on this scale adds is a major boost to the global effort to tackle global warming. And the plan is not just to phase out coal. It aims at decarbonising the whole economy. This latest announcement, is in line with the China’s new prioritisation of the environment, adopted the by government earlier .

President Xi Jinping announced the new carbon target for China

This has put pressure on other nations to step up their game, and it includes Australia.

Coal companies operating here are in trouble. The successful implementation of china’s policy will mean that the main destination for Australian coal exports will soon come to an end, and it is not likely that an alternative will be found.

While it is true that natural gas will be part of what will be used as a short-term, transition, China is making a big switch towards electric and other alternative non-carbon technologies and energy generation.

The European union has also announced a new target. It is to reduce its carbon emissions from 40 percent to 60 percent by 2030. This would mean a considerable adjustment from member nations. The point is political pressure to do so is there and growing.

A new survey by Lloyds, found most of the global population believe that climate change imposes a major threat to the future. This was the result of its Register Foundation World Risk Poll, where 41 percent interviewed in 2019 said the threat is ‘very serious,’ and 28 percent is it “somewhat serious’. Only 13 percent believed it was “not a threat at all”. This pattern was broadly the same in all parts of the world.