Read part one of Australia’s worst individual climate culprits here, and worst corporate culprits here.
Crikey’s list of criteria for determining Australia’s worst climate culprits encompasses their role in setting climate policy, the level of emissions they’re responsible for, how much political influence their companies wield to undermine climate action and how they can influence public debate and political reactions.
Yesterday we unveiled Clive Palmer, Scott Morrison and Rupert Murdoch as Australia’s worst climate culprits. Today, the next round:
Barnaby Joyce
Joyce’s noxious influence over climate policy illustrates how Australia’s “democracy” is a shambles. Representatives of two parties (the Nationals and the Liberal National Party) who collectively receive the support of less than 15% of Australians have been able to block climate action for a decade, despite strong support in the community for a greater government response. Joyce, whose party enjoys significant donations from fossil-fuel companies, was able to overcome unresolved sexual harassment allegations to return to the deputy prime ministership on a platform of not merely not doing more on climate, but actually increasing government support for coal-fired power.
Grant King
The former head of Origin Energy and chair of key climate denialist lobby the Business Council, King has illustrated how fossil-fuel interests can dictate the policy process on climate and energy. Commissioned to review the government’s risible “emissions reduction fund”, King immediately told the government to allow the fossil-fuel scam carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be funded by taxpayers. That delivered, he was rewarded with the chair of the Climate Change Authority.
Richard Goyder
The prominent West Australian businessman leads the C-suite climate culprits. As chair of Woodside, Goyder is not merely responsible for one of Australia’s biggest carbon emitters, but for its systemic perversion of public policy processes at the federal and state level to support its interests via massive political donations and the serial employment of politically influential figures (just ask Ben Wyatt, the WA Labor figure snapped up by Goyder to join him on the board this year). This is the company, after all, that Australia spies on its neighbours for.
Note: this article has been amended, after initially describing Grant King as the former head of Santos, rather than Origin Energy.
Woodside seems to be close by when the most nefarious of government activities occur. Their name just keeps coming up. Coincidence? I think not.
These people aren;t just offending against the climate, they’re actually sponging off average Australian wealth.
Recent research shows that Australian households would save $4200 on their energy bills by 2035 if governments helped them add solar power and batteries, replace gas cooking and heating appliances and purchase electric vehicles (https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/clean-energy-cash-splash-would-cut-household-bills-4200-by-2035-20211004-p58x2w.html) – instead, the cash handouts are going to fracking and CCS.
Good comment, but the Nats will not accept the loss of well-paid coal workers’ jobs and towns dependent on them.
And as for government subsidies to aid consumers to buy solar + battery, politicians of both major parties are hamstrung by the “how will government pay for it” narrative, given the current acceptance of the balanced budget myth by both sides of politics. (See Stephanie Kelton’s latest best seller: The Deficit Myth”).
And as far as the Nats are concerned, if anyone is going to be subsidized it will be the coal industry….
The ongoing persecution of Bernard Collaery illustrates the power of Woodside.
Don’t forget it was A-G Christian Porter who instigated the current court case.
No surprises that replacement A-G for Porter is fellow Westralian Michaelia Cash.
Bernard had a little win today.
Woodside plus all of the nominees.
Woodside on the North West Shelf was the one PM Howard backed and crowed like hell when they did a 25 year contract for the sale of Gas to China.
It was fixed price with no rise and fall clauses.
It has also been suggested there was no “rare gases” clauses either. Because with Gas comes a lot of other gases. And they are worth lots.
Someone picked a juicy bargain at the expense of us taxpayers.