Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:09:36 +1000WeeblyThu, 02 Jan 2020 21:08:07 GMThttp://www.stevebishop.net/how-stupid-is-scomos-climate-policy/how-stupid-is-scomos-climate-policyWith Australians dying in ferocious fires, parts of the country being swallowed by rising sea levels, an unprecedented swag of record temperatures and devastating drought, how stupid is ScoMo’s climate policy?
Unlike major polluters such as China, the United States and India, we are such a minor emitter of CO2 that we are unable to make a significant contribution to saving the planet.
Therefore, the Government should recognise, urgently, that we face the same plight as Pacific islands which emit comparatively small carbon emissions but which will be catastrophically affected by climate change.
That means instead of sabotaging international efforts at the recent Madrid conference to mitigate a looming global disaster Australia must place the utmost pressure on the big polluters to dramatically reduce their emissions.
But already there is a warning that Australia’s policy could have the reverse effect and lead to major emitters doing less to cut emissions.
The use of a "surplus" – effectively halving Australia's Paris pledge of reducing 2005-levels of emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 – opened the door to India and former Soviet nations to cut their ambition too,
said John Connor, chief executive of the Carbon Markets Institute.
And we can’t demand action from the big polluters if we stick to ScoMo’s policy of doing as little as possible – a policy that is the complete opposite of what is logically essential.
Only if we become a leader in tackling the Paris target for emission reduction can we insist on the big emitters doing more.
What we need is the boldness being displayed in New Zealand where PM Jacinda Ardern is aiming for the country to become carbon neutral by 2025 and to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.
Our predicament is that ScoMo supports the coal industry, as evidenced by his wielding a chunk of it in Parliament in 2017 and urging people not to be afraid of it.
He is also beholden to the climate change equivalent of anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers in his party who refuse to believe the overwhelming worldwide scientific consensus regarding the dangers of manmade climate change.
MPs such as Craig Kelly, Liberal MP for Hughes, who says the science of climate change is a lie and a fraud, despite apparently having no scientific qualifications.
His facebook page is devoted to regular postings which argue that climate change is not occurring..
Nothing illustrates Morrison’s dependence on Kelly’s support more than the fact that he intervened to ensure the former furniture salesman’s survival in a pre-selection brawl in December 2018.
We are all at the mercy of the dunces who refuse to believe sea levels are rising despite flooding and erosion on Yam Island, Masig Island’s cemetery being washed away, and roads disappearing on Boigu Island.
They reject the consensus that the earth is in danger of overheating despite the fact that in just 90 days last summer more than 206 records were broken in Australia.
This has led to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index reporting:
Experts note that the new government is an increasingly regressive force in negotiations…
In summary, Australia’s climate policy is a short-term piece of flimflammery espoused by a coal industry promoter and supported by a former furniture salesman, which could sabotage attempts to tackle the looming climate disaster.
It’s a short-term fix for Morrison’s tenure in office rather than a long-term contribution to saving the planet.
It’s rated as the worst in the world by the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index.which reports:
Australia receives the lowest rating in this year’s Climate Policy rating as experts observe that the newly elected government has continued to worsen performance at both national and international levels.
That’s how stupid ScoMo’s climate policy is.
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