There’s a bizarre disconnection between the climate change debate in Australia and reality. While major party politicians, business and union leaders and mainstream media commentators debate such issues as how much polluters should be shielded from a carbon price, how much money should be given to households and the dangers of getting ahead of the rest of the world, Australia’s emissions continue to grow.
Despite the impact of the GFC, which saw our emissions fall slightly for five consecutive quarters, our output of CO2 has been rising again since last year, despite some handy one-off factors like higher rainfall and cooler temperatures keeping emissions growth down.
Australia is already producing more emissions than, under a target agreed by both sides of politics, we are aiming to in 2020. And it’s hardly a serious target. Australia currently produces more carbon emissions per person than nearly any other country – nearly 25 tonnes per person in 2010. Indeed, only the oil-producing Gulf states have higher levels of emissions per person. Australia’s bipartisan 5% target would, even factoring in high population growth, leave intact our lead as one the world’s biggest per-person emitters. As it turns out, the anti climate change action talking points used by the relevant ranks of politics, business and the media are right — our efforts to address climate change will lead the world. Just not in the way they think.
So, while our leaders endlessly argue the toss in a fantasy land of unilateral policies, economic carnage and costless “direct action”, in the real world our emissions continue to rise, rather like global temperatures continue to rise, oblivious to efforts to rationalise them away.
Unpleasant conclusion- Australians communally stupid and selfish.
Forget intellectual or environmental arguments- we will wait until other nations get their act together and start to punish dirty emitters with trade sanctions etc.
Then and only then will we get the message.
The environment may rage with drought and flooding rains,
We would rather listen to the Bolts and Abbbots and the impoverished starving
Mining Lobby.
Yes and in SA we have the member for pollutionville Lyn Brueur screaming that the towns in her electorate will be rooned if they can’t keep destroying the rest of the state.
One mine sucks up 50% of our power, BHP have 30 million litres of free water per day, there is massive lead poisoning, arsenic leaching and radioactive spillage but they whine about their frigging jobs.
Having left Switzerland in 2002 and now ready to go back… I continue to be astounded how climate change and Australia’s contribution to its reduction continues to be a political hot potato that is passed around by politicians to get votes. No mention is ever made of the unbelievable (highest per capita in the World) consumption of Energy and its byproduct pollution. Get the Australian to start stop consuming… does it need a TV program to show people if they drive 10% less they will save 10% on fuel and reduce emissions by 10%!
We are the only couple in a street of 10 houses of which 50% are retired like us who only run one Car ! We are one of three that have Solar Hot Water, about 5 have boats which are used about 3 weeks a year and caravans that are hardly used. All the government needs to do is slap a GREAT BIG TAX on automobile fuel and tax 2 litre cars twice as much as 1 litre cars… and perhaps the the over consumption might reduce. Don’t give them the money back… they will only spend it on even bigger hamburgers.
After forty years of endeavouring to defend Australia’s fragile environment, I’m over the carbon crap.
The harsh reality is that the polluters who believe they are above human morality will continue to pollute, corruption will prevail and the “Polluter Pays” principle will remain a diabolical myth.
Successive, gutless governments (captured by a mining industry running amok) many who think they are divinely guided and bewitched by their own hubris are too obtuse to introduce an economy that does not depend on the most pernicious, predatory industry on earth digging the largest, filthiest quarries on the planet. Yay – come over here Canadian, American, English, Chinese, South African messianic multinationals and dirty things up for the locals, free of charge too and then you can do your usual runner. After all, it is our economy stoopid.
And here, down under, you can fake emissions’ reports and provide ‘glowing’ sustainability reports to your greedy shareholders. Nobody cares in these brown lands as long as we, they, he, she and Paddy’s dog gets a share of the filthy lucre.
Australia’s per-capita emissions are high primarily because it relies on coal-generated power. It’s per-capita energy usage is not the “highest in the world” (though it is certainly on the higher side).
Were Australia fortunate enough, like Switzerland, to derive nearly all of its electricity from hydro and nuclear, then its CO2 emissions would be similarly low. Good luck convincing the greenies to put in more hydro or nuclear, though.