The statement now reads: "To support Bathurst and the wider Central West to transition to a sustainable, regenerative, post-carbon economy with net zero emissions by 2035."

Our previous statement had a date of 2030.

This was in line with the goal of organisations such as the United Nations if the world was to keep global warming no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2030.

So why the five-year increase?

Has BCAAN given up on the 2030 target?

It is now accepted by more and more climate experts that the planet will exceed 1.5 degrees warming by 2030.

RECENT ECO NEWS COLUMNS:

For example, while speaking at a forum after the United Nations 2021 climate change conference 'COP26', Australian internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist Tim Flannery was hopeful that if all nations do what they say they would do at COP26, then warming could peak at about 1.8 degrees by 2030.

This figure, though, depends on big emission nations being fully cooperative in the years up to 2030.

It seems that many at COP26 itself were doubtful that this full cooperation would occur.

A line in the COP26 report reads, "If the pledges made at Glasgow are fully implemented, warming will be kept below two degrees Celsius; and with the commitment to further action over the next decade we have kept 1.5 degrees Celsius in reach."

According to the COP26 report itself the pledges made at COP26 were not enough to achieve 1.5 degrees by 2030 without further action.

It remains to be seen what will change after COP27 in November.

Locally, coal needs to stay in the ground and our natural environment needs to be protected.

Coal in the ground and our forests (with all their remaining balance and biodiversity) are carbon already sequestered from the atmosphere.

And we must keep supporting new solar and wind renewable projects - these are the preferred options in our water-limited region.

The bottom line is that for many years we have all been too slow to address warming.

We need to keep working as hard as we can and hope that by 2035 a target of no more than 1.5 degrees warming is enough.

Not enough action has already cost us at least five years.

The new BCCAN date of 2035 reflects this.