Towards the end of each year, more than 100 countries gather at the United Nations’ annual summit on climate change, called the COP. It’s the closest thing the world has to negotiating a deal to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases.
Here’s which ministers have attended from the Australian government in recent years:
COP13 in Bali, Indonesia in 2007: prime minister Kevin Rudd, treasurer Wayne Swan, climate change minister Penny Wong, environment minister Peter Garrett (ALP), opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt (Coalition)
COP14 in Poznan, Poland in 2008: climate change minister Penny Wong (ALP)
COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009: prime minister Kevin Rudd and climate minister Penny Wong (ALP)
COP16 in Cancun, Mexico in 2010: climate change minister Greg Combet (ALP)
COP17 in Durban, South Africa in 2011: climate change minister Greg Combet (ALP)
COP18 in Doha, Qatar in 2012: parliamentary secretary for climate change Mark Dreyfus (ALP)
COP19 in Warsaw, Poland in 2013: none (Coalition).
West Wing fans oft quote Aaron Sorkin’s line that “decisions are made by those who show up”. Not us.
Yes, our government “believes in the science of climate change”. It’s just that all their actions (or inactions), strongly suggest that they don’t.
Well it’s because it’s in Warsaw in November. Surely they can do better than that following on from Cancun and Bali.
Just goes to show that our ‘new’ government does not care about their people, let alone the generations to come!
Arrogant, dismissive and negligent behaviour by those who promised to govern “for all Australians”.
We are out in the cold.
Hey, Hunt will be able to catch up on Wiki soon enough. And he won’t have to worry about a dodgy expenses claim should he go sunning himself on the Baltic seaside as a side trip, November notwithstanding that he don’t no how bleeve this here warmin’ crapola.