1 December 2015, Renew Economy, Malcolm Turnbull does a Kevin Rudd and ratifies Kyoto Protocol. PARIS: Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has followed in the footsteps of former Labor PM Kevin Rudd, and announced that Australia would ratify the Kyoto Protocol – a move we flagged yesterday and one that could increase pressure on Australia to lift its near-term targets. In both cases, the gesture came in the weeks after the two prime ministers were elevated to their position, and followed predecessors bitterly opposed to the ratification, John Howard and Tony Abbott respectively. In the case of Rudd in 2007, it was the first period of the Kyoto Protocol, and Australia had been a significant hold-out against the treaty. It earned him a standing ovation at the Bali conference, but little influence in Copenhagen. Turnbull has now decided to ratify the second period of the Kyoto Protocol, at Paris, several years after it signed the treaty. It doesn’t make a lot of difference in itself, but it was seen as an important gesture to developing nations while a new treaty that includes all countries is negotiated in Paris. And, in any case, it would be churlish not to, considering that Australia will use a heavy overhang of surplus credits from the first period of the Kyoto Protocol to meet its 2020 targets. And legal access to international credits may help Australia meet its targets.Read More here
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1 December 2015, Renew Economy, Paris, COP21: Turnbull ducks and weaves as world leaders lead. PARIS: As 150 country leaders spoke in Paris on Monday, mostly reinforcing their commitment to a global agreement that aims to limit global warming to a maximum 2°C, Australia prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was forced to duck and weave his way through the first day of talks. The country leaders were invited to Paris to try to remove roadblocks and inspire others to act. Most – including the leaders of the US, China, Mexico, host France and other EU countries, developing nations, and even Russia – did exactly that. But the day started badly for Australia with the revelation that it had snubbed – apparently, at the last minute and under pressure from the conservative rump of the Coalition government – an invitation to join a 40-country campaign to remove fossil fuel subsidies. Australia was also conspicuously absent when many of the world’s major economies held a special event to underline their support for a carbon price. Australia, of course, was the first country in the world to remove a carbon price when Tony Abbott was in power. Australia announced it was adding $1 billion into climate financing fund over five years, but again appeared to be pulling much of this money from the foreign aid budget. It also pledged an extra $100 million for clean technology research, at the same time as refusing to remove legislation that would dismantle the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corp and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, from which it has stripped twice as much research funding. Read More here
30 November 2015, New Matilda, 10,000 Empty Shoes And A Mist Of Pepper Spray Open Paris Climate Talks. Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was supposed to visit a memorial for those killed in the Paris terror attacks, but was diverted after climate protestors clashed with police. New Matilda’s environmental reporter Thom Mitchell was on the scene. Around 10,000 empty pairs of shoes rested solemnly in La Place de la Republique, in the heart of Paris on Sunday, the day before make-or-break-climate change negotiations get underway in the French capital. They were placed there to stand in stead of the hundreds of thousands expected to have marched if not for a ‘State of Emergency’ ban on political gatherings in public spaces, itself defied by more than 5,000 people who swarmed into the historic political space later that afternoon. Read More here
30 November 2015 The Conversation, We can achieve sustainability – but not without limiting growth. Can Australians be sustainable and enjoy endless economic growth? It’s not likely. In a recent article on The Conversation, Steve Hatfield-Dodds argued that sustainability was possible in Australia without sacrificing economic growth. He also argued the necessary policy changes would not require fundamental changes to Australians’ values. This research was based on a detailed paper in Nature and modelling undertaken for CSIRO’s recent National Outlook Report. Contrary to this pro-growth outlook, I will argue that sustainability would be almost impossible to achieve in practice without ending growth in population and consumption per person. I’ll also argue that the claim that we don’t need to change our values cannot be proven (or disproven) by the method used by Hatfield-Dodds and colleagues. Recent experience suggests we may need to change our values. This debate is important, because the argument that sustainability is compatible with growth is likely to be misused by those who have vested interests in endless economic growth. Growth and sustainability are rarely compatible. Read More here