Peter Garrett, Australian politician
Australia wakes up...
The Australian government has failed to take action on their carbon emissions for far too long now. At last that is changing thanks to Al Gore's hard-hitting climate change documentary, the UK Stern report and an increasingly concerned public. Will this late commitment be effective enough to reverse the damage though? Rodney Appleyard investigates.
There is plenty of evidence in Australia that global warming is already having a major impact on the environment. Water levels are at an all time low and some places are in the grip of the worst drought since farming began. The barrier reef is also fading away due to unusually warm waters and Australia has had 10 of the hottest years on record over the last 12 years. In fact, Sydney’s hottest New Year’s Day ever was recorded last year at 44.2 degrees Celsius.
Australia is also the second worst creator of CO2 (carbon dioxide) per capita (behind the U.S.) and is currently the 10th largest polluter on the planet.
Despite these shocking statistics, Australia’s CO2 emissions continue to rise with 70% of the green house gases coming from coal power and other industrial emitters.
Australia is also the second worst creator of CO2 (carbon dioxide) per capita (behind the U.S.) and is currently the 10th largest polluter on the planet.
Despite these shocking statistics, Australia’s CO2 emissions continue to rise with 70% of the green house gases coming from coal power and other industrial emitters.
Economic Hypocrisy
The Prime Minister, John Howard, decided to opt out of the Kyoto Protocol because it did not include developing countries and he considered the economic impact on Australia to be far more important than the risks to the world. He was also initially dismissive towards the Stern Report’s economic warnings about not acting on climate change. This angered Peter Garrett, the former lead singer of Midnight Oil who is now an opposition minister - the Shaddow Minister for Climate Change.
'The Howard Government has spent the better part of nine years attempting to downplay and dissemble on global warming, and now we have this crystal clear enunciation of what is at risk if we fail to act. At the same time the Government is due to exceed its targets for CO2 emissions, which will now be 16% higher than they assured the Australian public they would be. '
'The Howard Government has spent the better part of nine years attempting to downplay and dissemble on global warming, and now we have this crystal clear enunciation of what is at risk if we fail to act. At the same time the Government is due to exceed its targets for CO2 emissions, which will now be 16% higher than they assured the Australian public they would be. '
'The Treasurer’s response to arguments by Stern about the seriousness of the problem was to blame developing countries for their emission levels.'
This blame shifting is typical of the confused policy vortex that is the Government’s response to climate change.'
But recently, the Government has been speaking more strongly about combating climate change. Its main plan is to develop nuclear power stations to provide alternative energy resources in the future. However, Mark Wakeham, the renewable energy campaigner for Greenpeace Australia, says the Government’s goals are too short sighted.
'They should be putting money into proven renewable energy programmes, such as wind, solar and sea power. The nuclear debate is another delaying tactic on climate change. There’s an agenda to open more uranium mines and impose a nuclear waste dump on Australia.
They are also worried about the economic threat to the coal and gas industry and don’t want to upset the companies in this area that have been making election campaign contributions for over 100 years.'
But recently, the Government has been speaking more strongly about combating climate change. Its main plan is to develop nuclear power stations to provide alternative energy resources in the future. However, Mark Wakeham, the renewable energy campaigner for Greenpeace Australia, says the Government’s goals are too short sighted.
'They should be putting money into proven renewable energy programmes, such as wind, solar and sea power. The nuclear debate is another delaying tactic on climate change. There’s an agenda to open more uranium mines and impose a nuclear waste dump on Australia.
They are also worried about the economic threat to the coal and gas industry and don’t want to upset the companies in this area that have been making election campaign contributions for over 100 years.'
'Howard is effectively consigning Australians to a hotter, warmer and dryer future'
Australians taking action
Despite the Federal Government’s shortcomings, Nic Frances, the CEO of Easy Being Green, is taking matters into his own hands. His organisation aims to help businesses make profits out of reducing carbon emissions.
'For example, the New South Wales State Government has started a scheme which charges companies $17 for each tonne of CO2 that is above a set threshold. So we recently charged companies $14 to invest in a carbon efficient campaign which brought them in line with the scheme’s carbon threshold targets (cheaper than paying the fine).
We used the money to give away energy light bulbs and energy efficient showerheads to 250,000 homes in a month. This saved on 3 giga litres of water, 1.5 million tonnes of carbon (equivalent to half a power station) and saved people $30 million on electricity bills.'
'For example, the New South Wales State Government has started a scheme which charges companies $17 for each tonne of CO2 that is above a set threshold. So we recently charged companies $14 to invest in a carbon efficient campaign which brought them in line with the scheme’s carbon threshold targets (cheaper than paying the fine).
We used the money to give away energy light bulbs and energy efficient showerheads to 250,000 homes in a month. This saved on 3 giga litres of water, 1.5 million tonnes of carbon (equivalent to half a power station) and saved people $30 million on electricity bills.'
The soil solution
Soils ecologist, Christine Jones, says there is an even simpler way to completely solve global warming by sequestering the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide into the soil.
'Using organic matter in the soil, instead of chemical fertilisers, will increase photosynthesis. This process effectively creates a sink for absorbing CO2 out of the atmosphere to help nourish the soil. If 10% of our productive land were converted into this regenerative form of agriculture it would mop up all of the excess carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere in Australia. But people think this solution is too simple so it won’t work.'
Even members of the public cannot wait for the Government to act, such as Paul Van Reyk, who has installed a dual function natural gas system in his house to heat his water and his rooms. This saves on his energy bill and also cuts down on the emissions released from his home.
Green campaigners and individuals cannot reverse the damage all by themselves. They need the Government to invest in a broader range of renewable energy schemes to tackle a problem scientists say can be reversed easily with the political will.
'Using organic matter in the soil, instead of chemical fertilisers, will increase photosynthesis. This process effectively creates a sink for absorbing CO2 out of the atmosphere to help nourish the soil. If 10% of our productive land were converted into this regenerative form of agriculture it would mop up all of the excess carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere in Australia. But people think this solution is too simple so it won’t work.'
Even members of the public cannot wait for the Government to act, such as Paul Van Reyk, who has installed a dual function natural gas system in his house to heat his water and his rooms. This saves on his energy bill and also cuts down on the emissions released from his home.
Green campaigners and individuals cannot reverse the damage all by themselves. They need the Government to invest in a broader range of renewable energy schemes to tackle a problem scientists say can be reversed easily with the political will.
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