What South Australia can teach the world about cutting carbon fast

WE NEED to urgently slash global carbon emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change. The scale of the task can seem overwhelming. But there are grounds for optimism in places where action to ditch fossils fuels is accelerating, offering vital lessons for the rest of us.

One such place is the state of South Australia. In 2007, just 1 per cent of its electricity came from solar and wind. Today, this proportion has risen to almost 73 per cent – the highest of any major grid in the world. It is tipped to become the first large-scale grid to run …