Australia would still have one of the dirtiest economies on Earth even if it meets the Albanese government’s new 2035 emissions reduction targets, according to top climate scientists protesting at what they claim is a lack of ambition by the government. The government’s new emissions reduction target does not meet the urgency of the crisis outlined in the government’s own risk assessment published last week, nor its commitment under the Paris Agreement, said Professor David Karoly, one of 60 scientists and researchers to sign a letter of protest to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is trying to break a deadlock with Turkey over hosting rights for next year’s United Nations climate talks. Credit: Dominic LorrimerThe letter comes as Albanese and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen seek to break a deadlock with Turkey over hosting rights for next year’s United Nations climate talks while the two attend events on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week. “We are dismayed that the target announced by the federal government last week – a reduction of between 62 and 70 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035 – fails to meet this promise to deliver the highest possible ambition,” says the letter signed by Karoly, who has served as a co-author on crucial UN climate assessment reports along with three other signatories.