11 August, 2025

1.5˚C aligned climate targets for Western Australia

Authors

Despite being the wealthiest, Western Australia (WA) is the only Australian state without an emissions reduction target. WA setting science based 2030 and 2035 emissions reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit will be an important part of meeting stronger federal emission reduction goals.

In this briefing we set out 1.5˚C aligned 2030 and 2035 targets for Western Australia - in both net and gross terms.

WA's current slow progress on renewables, slow electrification, ongoing support for carbon-intensive fossil fuels projects without incentives to decarbonise, support for virtually indefinite continuation of LNG exports and exploration and development of new gas resources, are all obstacles to emissions reductions that need to be overcome.

Publications

Latest science on the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement

This briefing provides a comprehensive overview of what the science is saying now about the 1.5°C warming limit – what it means, what is at stake, and what actions are needed to limit the risks of overshoot and safeguard a liveable future.

The full implications of Australia's North West Shelf decision

On 28 May 2025, Australian Environment Minister Murray Watt made the first step towards what looks set to be a final decision to approve Woodside Energy's North West Shelf LNG plant in Western Australia through to 2070.

Addressing challenges in the land sector under the Paris Agreement

This report examines how loose land-sector rules under the Paris Agreement enable countries to overstate carbon removals and delay essential fossil fuel emissions cuts.

The impact of global climate pledges on national action: a snapshot across Asia

A detailed analysis of eight Asian countries' climate action compared with global pledges.

Fair carbon removal obligations under climate response uncertainty

We assess the level of ‘preventive’ CDR needed to draw warming down to 1.5°C in case of a stronger-than-average Earth System response.

1.5°C-aligned 2030 and 2035 GHG emissions targets

We have produced factsheets for Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, India, Indonesia and USA showing 2030 and 2035 greenhouse gas emission reduction milestones for each jurisdiction to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal – both including and excluding land use, land-use change and forestry.

Spatially resolved emulated annual temperature projections for overshoot pathways

This study presents a new dataset of annual temperature projections for different overshoot pathways (when the 1.5 °C of global warming limit is exceeded). The data offers a unique opportunity to study local and regional climate change impacts of a range of overshoot scenarios, including when temperature thresholds might be exceeded, and by how much.

Geological Net Zero and the need for disaggregated accounting for carbon sinks

This study in Nature show that definitions of net zero now in widespread use will not actually stop global warming. The paper demonstrates that relying on natural carbon sinks, such as in forests or oceans, to 'offset' ongoing fossil fuel emissions will lead to continued warming.

Climate Action Tracker: 2024 warming projection update

Despite an escalating climate crisis marked by unprecedented wildfires, storms, floods, and droughts, the Climate Action Tracker annual global temperature update shows global warming projections for 2100 are flatlining, with no improvement since 2021. The aggregate effect of current policies set the world on a path toward 2.7°C of warming.

Decarbonising light-duty vehicle road transport

The Climate Action Tracker provides updated 1.5ºC compatible benchmarks for the transport sector for the world as a whole and for seven individual countries; the US, EU, China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia.

Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air … please!

The 2024 edition of UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report shows how much higher nations must aim. To get on a least-cost pathway for 1.5°C, emissions must fall 42 per cent by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. G20 nations, particularly the largest-emitting members, would need to do the heavy lifting.

The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Northern forests are critical in the race to net zero CO₂ by mid-century. Protecting and restoring these forests, alongside steep and rapid reductions in fossil fuel emissions, is essential both to mitigating emissions and to supporting forest ecosystem services and biodiversity.

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Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

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