Australia has just nine years before exceeding its Paris Accord commitments at current emission rates, a leading climate expert has warned.

Professor Mark Howden, director of the Australian National University’s Climate Change Institute, said although thinking on climate change had “turned a corner” in the past decade, time was running out to implement necessary measures.

The Paris Agreement, to which Australia is a signatory, aims to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Professor Howden warns “at current rates of emissions, that only gives us nine years”.

“If we think of this as a budget, instead of greenhouse gases we’re omitting, you can spend fast and die young, or you can take a more responsible approach,” he said.

Read the full article on the Herald Sun website, featuring commentary by Prof Mark Howden