Wong plays more politics with climate change - all talk and no action

The Labor party is back in election mode and restarting their campaign after the campaign started by Kevin Rudd turned to custard.  Having deposed Rudd as Prime Minister and shut him out of the new Cabinet, Julia Gillard has rewarded those loyal to her by keeping them in their ministries - despite quite obvious failures for a few of them to deliver.

Penny Wong for example failed to deliver an emissions trading scheme.  The accountability for the failed CPRS was hers, not Kevin Rudd's.  Instead of architecting an ETS based on science and evidence based reduction targets, Wong set about "negotiating" with the fossil fuel industries and running a political wedge within the Coalition ranks.  At no time in this process did she (or anybody else from Labor) negotiate with the Greens, who publicly committed to a science-based emission reduction target of 40% by 2020.

Wong "browned down" Labor's CPRS by gifting billions of free carbon emission permits to polluters and even doling out free cash payments to coal-fired power stations out of the public purse.  Then she negotiated with the Coalition and further "browned it down" so that if implemented, Australia would have achieved no emission reductions by 2020 and bought dodgy "offsets" from overseas.

Then the skillfully crafted wedge against the Liberals failed - Turnbull was ousted, and the new opposition leader sidestepped the trap set and opposed the CPRS - as it turns out for the wrong reasons, but for the right outcome.

Penny Wong had no "plan B" despite an offer from the Greens to negotiate on an interim carbon tax as described the Government's own advisor on climate change and economics - Professor Ross Garnaut.  Kevin Rudd then took the rap for the CPRS failure and said he would do nothing until 2013.  This was the beginning of the end of his time as Prime Minister of Australia, even though it was Penny Wong's failure.

I waited keenly for Julia Gillard, as the new Prime Minister, to say what she was going to do on climate change.  She acknowledged that action is required and that climate change is serious, but said that "we need to reach consensus on a price on carbon within the Australian community".  This is code for doing nothing.  

There will be no consensus when the fossil fuel industries spends hundreds of millions of dollars on propaganda and funding climate denialist groups, as we saw happening in the lead up to and during the recent failed Copenhagen Accord.  So Gillard stands for yet more talk and no real action.

Has Penny Wong learnt from her recent dismal failure with the CPRS?  Apparently not.  She is attending a 

Climate Adaptation Futures Conference at the Gold Coast along with over 100 climate scientists from around the world.  They are talking about how to adapt to climate change, not whether it is happening or not - which is now regarded as a given by climate scientists.  Unfortunately, this is cure rather prevention.  

Penny Wong told the Conference that:

"it was important to remember that science was at the heart of understanding climate change"

So how does she explain ignoring recent climate science and setting only a 5% reduction target under the CPRS?

"For too long those who deny climate change is real have muddied the debate, for too long they have hijacked this issue to pursue their own agenda."

I agree with her on this - but is Penny Wong who has hijacked the issue for petty political reasons.

"The reason we don't have a price on carbon is Tony Abbott tore down a leader (Malcolm Turnbull) and installed himself on the basis that he doesn't believe climate change is real, and the Australian Greens voted with Mr Abbott."

Some classic blame shifting here Penny.  As previously noted, she did not negotiate with Greens on the ETS at all, or after it failed!

"Julia Gillard has made clear her commitment to this issue, and her views about the need for a price on carbon" 

Penny Wong and Julia Gillard can achieve this tomorrow by negotiating with the Greens senators and getting two Liberal Senators to cross the floor.

It is time for Penny Wong to stop playing politics and to stop making excuses for doing nothing.  We need a carbon tax and we need it now.  Get on with it.

Climate Emergency Rallies across Australia give us some hope

The Climate Emergency Rallies across Australia on Saturday 13 June 2009 were inspiring. They delivered a targeted message to the community and our political leaders.


We need to reduce carbon emissions now through emergency action, and we can do this by creating thousands of green jobs to replace those lost in the polluting carbon-intensive industries.

More details on the rallies with photos and videos is available on Greenlivingpedia here.


Unfortunately, Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong has demonstrated why our political system and federal and state governments are currently part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Rather than listen to what the protesters were saying, she reacted with denial.

Penny Wong stated that "what these people are asking for can't be done".

That is a lie Penny. We can transition to 100% renewable energy by 2020, and we need to for a safe climate future.

Penny Wong also stated that "the government is bringing in laws (the CPRS) to reduce carbon emissions".

That is another lie Penny. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will not reduce Australia's carbon emissions until at least 2020, and probably not even by 2050.

This is because the government is handing out corporate welfare of $18b in the from of free emission permits to the worst polluting industries - which means they will continue on their polluting ways.

Penny Wong should resign as the Minister for Climate Change and take a job in the office of the Minister for Fossil Fuel Industries, Martin Ferguson.

We need to get action on climate change and energy policy out of the hands of incompetent politicians who are intent on "business as usual", "politics as usual".

We need to establish a taskforce informed by climate and energy scientists, not those under the thrall of the fossil fuel industries.

Kevin Rudd is playing politics with our climate

So why has Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong just done spectacular backflips and both decided to delay the implementation of their flawed Carbon Pollution Reduction (Reallocation) Scheme by one year?

Why have they also increased the "negotiating range" maximum from 15% to 25% - bringing it inline with the minimum range or 25% to 40% set in Bali in 2008?

Why have they introduced a cap on the carbon price of $10.00 per tonne?

There are two answers to these questions:

1. Politics
2. Business as usual - the grubby links between government and polluting industries.

Politics

The politics is asinine. Kevin Rudd does not want to negotiate with the Greens who have stated they support emission reduction targets in the range of 25-40% that will be negotiated at Copenhagen later this year. So Kevin Rudd has designed the CPRS so the Liberal-National opposition, and Malcolm Turnbull in particular, will be forced to support it.

Turnbull has been saying it should be delayed by 1-2 years; now it has been. Turnbull supports the 5% target. Turnbull is under pressure from the skeptics in his party - such as Nick Minchin and Wilson Tuckey - to support a weak and ineffective CPRS.

Business as usual - links between government and industry

Turnbull is also under pressure from the same industry lobbyists - such as Heather Ridout from the Australian Industry Group, and representatives from the coal/fossil fuel lobby (the "Greenhouse Mafia") - to support a weak and infective CPRS. They will threaten the opposition with hostile advertisements in marginal seats during the next election, and probably a few more dirty tricks too.

The wash up

If Turnbull - and the Liberal National "Opposition" - cave in and vote in the Senate for the CPRS with the Rudd Government we will have a scheme locked in that won't reduce carbon emissions.

Any parliamentarian who votes for the CPRS is playing Russian Roulette with a safe climate future. Kevin Rudd has stated that 450ppm CO2 is acceptable. Sorry Kevin, I disagree.

Scientists tell us that this could result in 3 degree global temperature rise, sea level rises of over 2 metres, and more frequent severe bushfires.

What can we do?

We must maintain hope that our political leaders will act responsibly and take immediate action to reduce climate change. We need to keep telling them that they must.

We need to spread awareness in the community about how "political stitch ups" are endangering our shared future, and that of the planet, by feeding the climate emergency we are now experiencing.

I think we also need to consider how we can get action on climate change informed and driven by science rather than hijacked by short term political motives.

We can also support the Greens' campaign for effective climate change action

I have also sent Don Henry from the ACF an email telling him I am reconsidering my 20+ year membership and support of the ACF, after his totally inappropriate glowing endorsement of Rudd's CPRS backflip. Is he planning to run for a safe Labor seat like Peter Garrett did?

External links

• Has Kevin Rudd "taken a signficant step forward on climate change"?, David Spratt
• Emissions rethink could trigger early election: Greens | theage.com.au
• "Greener, browner, and a lot later", Rudd greenhouse emissions retreat pitched at Coalition, The Age
• Rudd denies ETS delay is reckless | theage.com.au
• Rudd’s ETS backdown is about controlling the debate - Crikey
• Labor spineless on emissions - Crikey
  
  

A video from the Greens

The death of the Murray Lakes

I could not really believe reading today that Climate Change and Water Minister Penny Wong has written of the lower Murray Lakes. This is a monumental and catastrophic failing of our political system - which has now compromised our environment and water supplies to the point where irreversible damage has been done - and worse is to come.

At the same time, in today's newspapers Victorian Planning Minister Justin Madden has given approval for the Brumby Government's "north south pipeline" - to take water from the Goulburn river (and hence the Murray Darling system) - even though there is no water there for them to take! If it was a comedy it would be funny. But they are serious!

89% of voters in the Heraldsun online poll on this topic:

Certainly oppose this lunacy.



On Q&A on ABC TV tonight, Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett defended the Rudd Government's manifestly inadequate emission reduction targets (60% by 2050) AND the north south pipeline "because Melbourne needs the water".

The best Garrett and Wong can do is claim they are better than the opposition - who are still basically stuck in climate change denial and rubbery non-commitments.

And the emissions trading scheme shows every sign of being ineffective in reducing carbon emissions - it is too complicated and won't price carbon enough to drive reductions.

We really need to get water, climate change and energy policy out of the political arena and in the hands of a taskforce who can really do something - before our politicians preside over the total collapse of our ecosystems, our climate and our economy.

Blaming the Howard government is just not good enough.

Links:

• North South Pipeline, Greenlivingpedia
• Welcome to the emissions nightmare | theage.com.au
• Pipeline clears crucial hurdle | theage.com.au
• Last rites for stricken Murray River lakes | theage.com.au
• North-south pipeline under the pump | Herald Sun