Australia's new nuclear-powered subs are decades away, but it's already hinting about where it will use them
The submarines at the center of the recent Australia-UK-US security pact are still decades from delivery, but Australia already has an idea of where they will be operating. The AUKUS pact announced in September is meant to deepen cooperation on defense technologies, the highest-profile of which are eight nuclear-powered submarines that the US and the UK will help Australia develop. Officials have stressed that the pact is not directed at a specific country, but Australia's ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, emphasized this week that it is in response to changes in regional security, which are largely been driven by China. "The important thing is their lethality, their range, the number of things they can do," Sinodinos said of the subs. "It's part of a defense philosophy that we want to be able to — in [these] deteriorating strategic circumstances — be able to project our power further up, rather than taking an approach that all our defense has to be a defense of the mainland." "This is about how we project power and therefore are able to shape the security environment in which we operate in the Indo-Pacific," Sinodinos said at the Hudson Institute. Australia currently operates six Collins-class submarines, commissioned between 1996 and 2003, powered by diesel engines and batteries. Subs running on batteries can be quieter than some nuclear-powered subs, but nuclear propulsion allows subs to sail faster and farther, carry more weapons, and stay submerged longer — vital attributes if they are to spend more time "further up" in waters between the Indian and Pacific oceans and around first island chain, which includes Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Countries in the region have in recent years acquired more submarines and sought to improve their ability operate them. China in particular has dramatically expanded its undersea fleet and increased its surveys of nearby waters — including around Taiwan and between Indonesia and Australia.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.