Australia: What will the vote mean for climate policies?

On May 21, Australia, long regarded as a climate policy laggard, will go to the polls, and the results could be crucial for the planet’s future.

It is still dependent on coal for the majority of its electricity and is one of the worst countries per capita,.

It accounts for just over 1% of worldwide emissions but only 0.3 percent of global population.

It is a major global source of fossil fuels.

It accounts for 3.6 percent of global emissions once that is taken into account.

It is, nonetheless the most vulnerable to climate change.

Australia has seen catastrophic drought, massive bushfires, record-breaking floods, and six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef in recent years.

The newest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) study warns that the world is speeding toward a future full of comparable tragedies.

However, Australia remains committed to fossil fuels.

Here, climate policy is credited with toppling three prime ministers in a decade.

Despite the fact that the majority of voters want stricter climate action, certain coal towns are located in important election swing districts.