Blocked report warns Australia at risk of 'stranded' assets FUEL WORRIES By Peter Hannam Australia risks being left with "stranded" fossil fuel assets and missing out on investment in new technologies if the country's climate change actions are less ambitious than other nations, says a report blocked by the Baird government. 
The report was prepared by the Office of Environment as NSW's submission to a federal government inquiry into what Australia's post- 2020 carbon-cutting target should be.
It did not make it past Premier Mike Baird's office but was obtained by Fairfax Media under freedom of information laws.
While not proposing a specific target for greenhouse gas reduction, the submission recommends Australia take into account those of major trading partners and prepare a minimum goal that could be increased if others also make deeper cuts. It cited as an example the Climate Change Authority's recommended 40 to 60 per cent reduction range on 2000 levels by 2030.
It also suggested the continued use of 2000 as the base year because it would be more "transparent" and "easier to communicate to the Australian community".
That proposal is in contrast to the Abbott and now Turnbull government's approach, which has been to shift the base year for its 2030 goal to 2005. The federal government's pledge that it will take to the Paris climate summit next month is for Australia to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, a target that converts to about 19 per cent when compared with 2000 levels.
The US is aiming for a 28 per cent cut on 2005's carbon pollution but would seek to reach that goal five years earlier than Australia, the submission notes.
"If Australia sets an emissions reduction target that is low in ambition while others set targets that are higher in ambition, there is a risk that [Australia's] fossil fuel reserves may become 'stranded assets' and the value of these assets may devalue," the report says.
Without "significant reductions" in global emissions, NSW would face a range of extreme weather, including maximum temperatures rising 3 degrees or more between now and 2070, it says.
Severe fire weather in spring would also increase bushfire risk and reduce the opportunity for hazard reduction burning, while fewer cold nights would hurt natural ecosystems, snow tourism and some agriculture.
South-eastern Australia has experienced a record-breaking heatwave to start   October. It helped fan a bushfire near Melbourne that had been lit to reduce fuel before what is expected to be a difficult and long fire season. A spokesman for Mr Baird declined to say why his government did not refer the submission to its federal counterparts.