THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT ON CLIMATE ACTION. WHAT YOU GET RUNS COLD
0This is what you want on climate action. What you get runs cold
The disconnect is jarring when you look closely. After years of drought. fire and flood – and in the wake of a series of United Nations reports spelling out in terrible detail the catastrophic costs of inaction – Australia’s major political parties are running cold on climate action. On Wednesday. in the first leaders’ debate of this election campaign. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese did not mention climate change once. The issue was raised only in oblique terms after an audience member asked about electric cars. Both parties have embraced emissions reductions targets out of step with Paris targets. although Labor’s remains more ambitious. It is not that Australians don’t want more ambitious action on the climate crisis. Polls have shown for years that the overwhelming majority of Australians want action and are willing to pay for it. In its most recent poll on the issue. the Lowy Institute found that 61 per cent of Australians agreed with the statement: “global warming is a serious and pressing problem” and the government should begin to take steps now. “even if this involves significant costs”. This compared with 10 per cent who agreed that: “Until we are sure that global warming is really a problem. we should not take any steps that would have economic costs.” And in choosing not to act. Australian political leaders are ignoring the increasingly strident pleas of the nation’s neighbours and allies. Dr Ian Fry. an Australia climate specialist and diplomat who was recently appointed to be the UN’s first Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. says Australia’s influence in the Pacific has been diluted due to reluctance to embrace climate action. Is Australia a ‘holdout’? During last year’s world climate talks in Glasgow. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that he had again asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for more action. “It is no secret that we expect more from Australia on climate.” he said. “We’ve informed them before and we will continue to inform them. “Opening coal plants shuts the door on the future of low lying Pacific nations; whether you burn it yourself or you export it to others. coal has no place in this century.” Environment Minister Sussan Ley approved three coal mines in the lead up to the talks. In a public forum last month. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres took the unusual step of calling out Australia specifically. “A growing number of G20 developed economies have announced meaningful emissions reductions by 2030 – with a handful of holdouts. such as Australia.” he said Nor are the main parties restrained by the business sector. The Business Council of Australia. which once opposed ambitious action. is now calling for more of it. Boardrooms across the country want more action. Anna Skarbek told the Herald and The Age last year. Skarbek is the former investment banker who is now executive director of the non profit climate change advisory ClimateWorks Australia. Banks. insurance companies and investment houses are abandoning the same fossil energy companies that Australia’s two main parties champion. Australian business leaders such as Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon Brookes are pumping billions of dollars into renewable projects. not (only) because of concern about the climate. but because they see money to be made in new industries that are already exploding around the world. So. why the Australian silence? Climate change has long been a political graveyard for Australian politics. The nation was made rich by its abundant resources. particularly coal and gas. As a result. powerful incumbent industries. backed by media allies. have used their political might to turn public opinion against leaders who dared heed the warnings of scientists too closely. And while public sentiment has today shifted. it...
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