Climate change and its effects won't wait for an effective policy announcement

The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology's sixth State of the Climate report comes at the perfect time - a new US President has been elected, and he has a plan to tackle climate change.

With President Trump expected to vacate the White House, and along with it his catastrophic approach to the global climate threat, the attention has shifted back to Australia and why it's lagging behind when it comes to setting a strong, decisive emissions-reduction target.

Unlike the United Kingdom, Australia has not committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Instead, the aim is to get there in the second half of the century - sometime between 2050 and 2100.

In the medium term, Australia has said it will reduce its emissions by 26 to 28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030. That's far lower than other G20 countries' targets, including the UK's 57 per cent reduction target based on 1990s levels.

While Labor has committed to a net-zero emissions target by 2050, it's yet to release its medium-term goals to get there.

A 2019 United Nations Emissions Gap Report signalled current efforts under the Paris Agreement would not even be enough to stop global warming.

Even if all commitments are met, global temperatures are still projected to rise by about 3.2 degrees by the end of the century. It means more ambitious targets need to be agreed to and met.

With no clear plan in place to phase out Australia's reliance on coal, it seems the country is in a worrying gridlock on climate action.

Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor told ABC Radio a net-zero commitment was a "feel-good" Labor policy - one without a clear pathway.

Mr Taylor instead said the government would look to commitments that would "not destroy jobs, will not destroy investment, will not impose taxes on Australians".

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But the effects of climate change aren't going to sit idly, waiting for an effective commitment to rear its head. The report shows the situation is only getting more urgent, as temperatures continue to increase and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events becomes more apparent.

The government is at an impasse: forge forward with an ambitious target and a plan in place to reach it, leaving behind the pro-coal wing of its party, or continue with ineffective targets and face the compounding extreme climate effects of an uncertain future.

The CSIRO's Dr Jaci Brown said climate change action needs to be a combined effort on the parts of government, private industry and individuals in a briefing on the report on Thursday.

But without a driver taking the wheel with firm targets to get us there, we're heading toward a cliff.