Australia And Canada Form Climate Realist Alliance
Mark Kennedy
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won’t take any action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, made the statements following a meeting on Parliament Hill.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper both say there is no need for carbon pricing to combat climate change. Photo: Andrew Meares
Abbott, whose Liberal party came to power last fall on a conservative platform, publicly praised Harper for being an “exemplar” of “centre-right leadership” in the world.
Abbott’s government has come under criticism for its plan to cancel Australia’s carbon tax, while Harper has been criticized for failing to introduce regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada’s oil and gas sector.
Later this week, Abbott meets with U.S. President Barack Obama, who has vowed to make global warming a political priority and whose administration is proposing a 30-per-cent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 2030.
At a Monday news conference, Harper and Abbott both said they welcomed Obama’s plan. Abbott said he plans to take similar action, and Harper boasted that Canada is already ahead of the U.S. in imposing controls on the “electricity sector.”
But both leaders stressed that they won’t be pushed into taking steps on climate change they deem unwise.
“It’s not that we don’t seek to deal with climate change,” said Harper. “But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth. Not destroy jobs and growth in our countries.”
Harper said that no country is going to undertake actions on climate change — “no matter what they say” — that will “deliberately destroy jobs and growth in their country.
“We are just a little more frank about that.”
Abbott said climate change is a “significant problem” but he said it is not the “most important problem the world faces.
“We should do what we reasonably can to limit emissions and avoid climate change, man-made climate change,” said Abbott.
“But we shouldn’t clobber the economy. That’s why I’ve always been against a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme — because it harms our economy without necessarily helping the environment.”
Abbott’s two-day trip to Ottawa was his first since becoming prime minister and it quickly became evident he is on the same political page as Harper. They are both conservative politicians who espouse the need to balance the budget, cut taxes, and focus on international trade.
Just as Harper once turned to former Australian prime John Howard for political guidance, Abbott is now turning to his Canadian counterpart as a model.
Australia, Canada To ‘Forge Alliance’ To Counter Obama’s Green Agenda
International Business Times, 10 June 2014
Reissa Su
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seeking an alliance among “like-minded” nations to thwart efforts to introduce carbon pricing and American President Barack Obama’s move to push climate change through global forums like G20.
Abbott, who is visiting Canada for talks with the country’s prime minister and his close friend Stephen Harper, said efforts are underway to form a new “center-right” alliance under the leadership of Canada, UK, Australia, India and New Zealand.
According to reports, the five Commonwealth nations have “center-right” leaning governments but the closeness between Harper and Abbott is being regarded as the most significant alliance. The combination will attempt to move the pace of climate change action via policies like emissions trading or carbon tax.
Reports said the alliance is a “calculated attempt” to push back on what both Mr Abbott and Mr Harper sees as a “left-liberal agenda” to raise taxes and “unwise” plans to address the issue of global warming.
But Abbott said in a media conference that he thought climate change is a significant problem. But it’s not the “only problem” the world faces. He said the problem remains significant and countries should act based on what they think is best to reduce carbon emissions.
The prime minister said he was “encouraged” that Obama is looking at what he regards as a direct action measure to curb emissions and found it similar to what he proposes in Australia.
He said policies to address climate change should not hurt the economy. Harper agreed with the statement and said they want to deal with climate change “in a way that enhances our ability to create jobs and growth.”
Both leaders may not yield to pressure from the U.S. should Mr Obama revive the issue of climate change ahead of the annual climate summit.
In the previous week, Obama had flagged regulatory changes to influence U.S. states to address global warming by adopting “aggressive market interventions.” as decided to take climate change off G20 agenda. In December, Australia became the chair of G20, which is a group composed of 20 countries having the biggest economies in the world.
Britain Should Join Commonwealth Alliance Against ‘Unhealthy’ Climate Policy, Says Australian PM
The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2014
Jonathan Pearlman
Tony Abbott pushes for “conservative alliance” between Britain, Australia, Canada and India to limit “unwise” climate change action and resist carbon pricing
Mr Abbott called for limited action on climate change that would not ‘clobber the economy’
“Like-minded” countries such as Britain, Canada and India should form a conservative alliance with Australia to limit action on climate change and to prevent the introduction of carbon pricing, the country’s prime minister Tony Abbott has said.
Seeking to counter Barack Obama’s efforts for international action to reduce carbon emissions, Mr Abbott has reportedly sought to create a “combined front” with fellow Commonwealth nations that have conservative governments.
During a visit to Canada, Mr Abbott called for limited action on climate change that would not “clobber the economy”.
Like Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper, who withdrew his nation from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, Mr Abbott has dismantled his predecessor’s policies and moved to repeal Australia’s carbon tax. He is regarded as a climate change sceptic and once referred to global warming science as “absolute crap”, a comment which he later retracted.
Full story
h/t to Dr. Benny Peiser at The GWPF
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How about this: Wind turbines cause 1600 miscarriages on a Fur farm. But who cares about animals that are getting turned into coats anyway?
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/06/10/Wind-Turbines-Caused-1-600-Miscarriages-on-Fur-Farm
I think Abbott is a skeptic, but must pay lip service to Obama in order to assure a strong US Navy presence in the southern Pacific. China is being pretty aggressive in its territorial claims and by stroking Obama’s ego with respect to his position on climate change is just hedging his bets. I really don’t think Obama cares about what any other nations do, but he does like to hear people tell him he is right.
When the lights go out in the U.S. things will change as almost happened this past January at which time the almost loss of electric power would have effected some 60 million Americans.
This incident was due to bitter cold weather and not a storm when not enough electricity was available.
This information is available in Congressional hearings records.
If climate were a patient, the doctor had prescribed an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator a decade ago. Why do these prime ministers nostrify anthropogenic climocentrisim? Or even feel the need to mention climate?
The key question is: who on earth defends human rights nowadays? Supposedly not the socialist any more now than in the human history. So who will?
Don’t listen to what Abbott says; just observe what he is doing, or at least trying to do. The dismantling of “green schemes” and the various government administration that goes with them is one important pointer. His next big test is the legislation to repeal the Carbon Tax. Expect that to be introduced in a month or so, once the new senators are installed in the upper house. Doesn’t matter on whit what platutudes are offered up to the media ahead of his meetings in the USA. Follow the legislation and the budget.
Why would a Canadian (or a Russian) want to stop the world from getting 2-6C warmer?
Barbara
” When the lights go out in the U.S. things will change as almost happened this past January”
One of the other reasons that I see problems is that like with problem that plagued Obama health care introduction, they are again trying to do too much change too quickly and do it nation wide during an upcoming colder than normal climate cycle . Not only will the lights go out more often in some regions but there may be insufficient electrical energy to heat your home during colder than normal winters
As the greatest generation withers, the old broadcast networks and their seductive talking heads go with them. Fifty years ago they’d have had school kids in Denver doing rowboat drills on the baseball field to prepare for rising seas.
Jim Cripwell says:
June 10, 2014 at 6:32 am
Patrick, you write “Unfortunately, Abbott still has to wait for changes in the Senate in July, and that’s not looking too good at this time.”
I am Canadian, and don’t pretend to understand Australian politics. But I thought that Abbott’s trump card was the threat of “double dissolution”.
*************************************************************************************************************
Unfortunately since the budget was handed down the double dissolution option seems to have vanished with the “enraged” voters.
Claude Harvey says:
June 10, 2014 at 6:43 am
Not sure how to reconcile the “saviors of sanity” tone of the article with the following quote:
“At a Monday news conference, Harper and Abbott both said they welcomed Obama’s plan. Abbott said he plans to take similar action, and Harper boasted that Canada is already ahead of the U.S. in imposing controls on the ‘electricity sector’.”
***************************************************************************************************************
Sure they welcome Obama’s plan. Obama’s plan will benefit Australia and Canada. LOL
Mark Kennedy
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won’t takeany action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, made the statements following a meeting on Parliament Hill.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper both say there is no need for carbon pricing to combat climate change. Photo: Andrew Meares
===
Well that’s not quite the same thing, is it?
Mark Kennedy’s head line is close to a denialist stance: economic growth and be damned. This is exactly what warmists characterise as the climate D-nial, and it does exist.
What Harper and Abbot, proably correctly, state is that there is not need.
Thanks to Mark Kennedy for highlighing the difference between D-nialist stance and a balanced assessment of the need to control “carbon”.
Leo Geiger says:
June 10, 2014 at 8:06 am
It is something of a problem for Prime Minister Harper that British Columbia introduced a carbon tax five years ago (a revenue neutral one) and it did not destroy jobs and the economy in British Columbia. It remains difficult for the Conservatives to reconcile that reality with their rhetoric.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Really Leo? We have had this discussion before. BC used to (USED TO) outperform Alberta with all of its mining, fishing, and forestry industries. But look what has happened it the last while. Alberta went from having a lower GDP than BC in 1999 to 50% more than BC’s GDP in 2012.
The below is from http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Economy/EconomicAccounts.aspx
showing GDP in millions of $C
Alberta had a population of less than 3.7 million in 2012, now closer to 4.1 million.
BC had a population of about 4.5 million in 2012 and currently is about 4.7 million with over half the population living in the lower mainland.
BC GDP per person 2012 = $48,900
Alberta GDP per person 2012 = $84,300
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
123,150 133,724 135,884 140,525 148,540 161,114 173,641 186,772 197,072 203,951 195,966 205,996 215,148 219,994
118,782 146,539 153,593 152,744 172,880 193,353 224,373 244,523 259,087 295,126 246,717 270,100 298,049 311,898
Somehow I think I will stay in Alberta. Thank you BC for my degree and training, but I see my kids barely making it in BC so I will say away from the Suzuki-ized LEFT coast. (Jeez, I even took classes from the guy😞)
Taxed to death says:
June 10, 2014 at 9:37 am
“Leo Geiger on June 10, 2014 at 8:06 am
Leo, why is it that Alberta roads have so many vehicles with BC plates then. They are resident to BC but work in Alberta cause that’s where the frickin good paying jobs are sheesh. That’s reality.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yep. There are charter flights between Fort Mac and Kelowna and now some airlines are opening up additional flights from BC to Alberta because of all the workers moving back and forth.
You really need to understand that Australia is a dyed in the wool (literally) socialist country and for that you have to understand how it was built by many immigrants travelling as “mates” for 3 or 4 months in frail wooden (mostly Canadian built) clipper ships in the 19th century. This gave the unlanded classes a fierce loyalty to each other that is always against the govenrment – particularly when it is thratening their “entitlements”. Read Peter Fitzsimmons books on the Eureka Stockade and the bushranger Ned Kelly to understand that.
The public service is enormous and have locked in Labor (and some Green for the environmentally precious and university intellectuals) voters. The only time that conservatives get a chance to govern is when the Labor (and it is spelled that way) government is a shambles and lands us in deep debt – then we hurry back to the conservatives to sort the budget out – get us out of debt – then when there is money in the bank we can indulge in the luxury of a spendthrift government that gives it all away again. (We went from a huge surplus built up over the Howard and Costello years to $300B in debt over the last 6 years of fiasco.) We truly live in an age of entitlement.
So Abbott has to tread very carefully – he only has a 3 year term and has to make an impact in the first 2 to stand any chance of being re-elected. The suggestions to watch what he does – rather than what he says – are quite correct. He is unwinding a lot of the labor/green legislation – but because of the complexities of the multi-layers of government – it will take time and will not be sweeping. he also has to bring the State and Territory governments along with him if he is to stand a chance (and that isnt easy either). He is of course hoping that his actions will be seen in 2 or 3 years time as being wise and leading – but I fear for our future if he does not succeed.
Take care out there – – the cold winds of change are blowing.
Leo Geiger says:
June 10, 2014 at 8:06 am
It is something of a problem for Prime Minister Harper that British Columbia introduced a carbon tax five years ago (a revenue neutral one) and it did not destroy jobs and the economy in British Columbia. It remains difficult for the Conservatives to reconcile that reality with their rhetoric.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4.6 million people. Park one bus and you cut CO2 by 20%. Park two buses and your mass transit fails.
What about the “clearances” out of Ireland and Scotland to the colonies in the 19th century so wool and meat could be produced where people used to have tiny cottages on small plots of land.
Might make some of the emigrants just a bit anti-government. And the emigrants got the best end of that deal.
I suppose we will just have to wait and see. There’s plenty of double talk going on here. I don’t see any outright dismissal of the CAGW Climate change nonsense, when they are both supportive of Obama’s plan to destroy the coal industry there. This, while saying they don’t want to take action against climate change that will ”clobber” their economies.
Reading over it, and the subsequent comments here, it seems that there are various ways to interpret the mixed messages being sent out. Take the Politics out of Science.
Eamon.
Eamon Butler has it right. There is double-talk by Harper and Abbott. Both are fake conservatives that are really just peddling the same climate alarmism and crony capitalism as Obama is. Only truly low-info voters would fall for Harper’s and Abbott’s nonsense. See here http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/63678
Leo Geiger
Lol – Right, BC carbon tax no effect on economy? Then you might want to answer why BC customers are filling their gas tanks in Alberta and across the US border, buying food and appliances in Alberta and the US. Then tell some poor sucker there is no effect on BC’s economy. Moreover, BC citizens are working here in Alberta where the better money is located.
Money talks and Harper gets it. Watermelons know only how to spend other people’s money on green fantasies like the green economy. If they had to actually earn a living they would quickly be roaming skid row, homeless and penniless. Some, like Suzuki and Gore, profit spectacularly by taking advantage of the watermelons; like most cult leaders they don’t at all practice what they preach.
Watermelons, don’t kid yourself. You like to stay warm in the winter as much as those of us living in the real world. At least we’re not ungrateful about the fossil fuel industry that 1) provides the energy to heat our homes; 2) provides jobs that sustain the Canadian economy and 3) gives governments tax and royalty revenue that (at least in Canada) funds the social programs that you so glibly call “free”. As I said at the start, money talks and Harper gets it.
cannot tell u how toxic the media is in australia. here’s an example which google’s al-gore-ithms kindly placed on my google news main page today, from “trendy” CAGW-friendly Crikey:
10 June: Crikey: Bernard Keane: Abbott and Harper renew a blinkered coalition of denialism
There’s a certain inevitability about Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper standing shoulder-to-shoulder in an effort to stymie international action on climate change. That’s not just because they’re middle-aged white conservatives, which is defining demography of climate denialism — if CO2 caused baldness and erectile dysfunction climate change would have been addressed decades ago — but because they lead two of the world’s most carbon-intensive major economies, both of which are reliant on resources exports…
Harper is now the senior partner, with Abbott the new deputy denier…
Tragically, however, George W. Bush has been replaced by a Democrat, and one who has belatedly decided to route around the Republican Party’s denialism and use his executive powers to impose an emissions reduction target on power plants. The Obama administration has also made it clear for some months that it wanted this year’s G20 meeting to take climate change seriously, a potential humiliation for Australia given the Abbott government’s stance. Australia’s response to the US push so far seems to have been derived from Basil Fawlty’s “don’t mention the war” approach…
Climate change is also a national security issue. If other older conservative males can’t cope with the idea of climate change, America’s military brass have no difficulty.
***The Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review of March this year warned that climate change would increase the cost of future operations and increase the threat faced by the US…
http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/06/10/abbott-and-harper-renew-a-blinkered-coalition-of-denialism/
Adelaide Festival of Ideas: Bernard Keane, Crikey
Bernard Keane has been Crikey’s correspondent in Canberra since 2008, writing on politics, media and economics. He was educated at the University of Sydney and has a PhD in history. Before joining Crikey he was a public servant, beginning with stints in transport policy and as a speechwriter before moving into communications and media policy.
http://adelaidefestivalofideas.com.au/speakers_new/bernard-keane/
will post the debunking of the Pentagon report in a followup comment.
Sierra Rayne (@rayne_sierra) says:
June 10, 2014 at 5:42 pm
“Only truly low-info voters would fall for Harper’s and Abbott’s nonsense” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is hilarious.
I’m sorry but I can not in good conscience give any “visits” to the cowardly CFP.
Standing by Harper until he gives me a reason not to.
He is what Canada (and the rest of the world, frankly) needs.
An economist with some stones.
waiting for comment with link to Bernard Keane at Crikey to come out of moderation. however, this is my response to Keane bringing up the debunked Pentagon report:
Keane: as amusing as it is to see anti-rightwing CAGW folks like u spruiking for the Pentagon, their report was first exposed as fake ten years ago. & again more recently:
2004: NBC: Storm over Pentagon climate scenario
Consultants present worst-case view: warming, then sudden cooling
The Pentagon think tank, for its part, paid $100,000 for the report but said it was not satisfied and would not forward it to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld…
The report’s authors said their scenario was “not implausible” and would challenge U.S. national security in ways that should be considered immediately…
But following all of the controversy, the authors’ consulting firm, Global Business Network, stated on its Web site that that the report offered a worst-case scenario, not a prediction.
“As is customary in military and defense-related projects, the authors describe a worst case scenario (not a prediction) for abrupt climate change,” the company said. “They note that ‘the purpose of this report is to imagine the unthinkable—to push the boundaries of current research on climate change so we may better understand the potential implications on national security.’ Contrary to some recent media coverage, the report was not secret, suppressed, or predictive.”…
The Pentagon official who commissioned the study, Andrew Marshall, issued a brief statement saying it “reflects the limits of scientific models and information when it comes to predicting the effects of abrupt global warming. … Much of what this study predicts is still speculation.”…
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4379905/ns/us_news-environment/t/storm-over-pentagon-climate-scenario/
1 June 2014: Washington Times: Rowan Scarborough: Pentagon wrestles with bogus climate warnings as funds shifted to green agenda
Ten years ago, the Pentagon paid for a climate study that put forth many scary scenarios.
Consultants told the military that, by now, California would be flooded by inland seas, The Hague would be unlivable, polar ice would be mostly gone in summer, and global temperatures would rise at an accelerated rate as high as 0.5 degrees a year.
None of that has happened…
The report also became gospel to climate change doomsayers, who predicted pervasive and more intense hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts…Doug Randall, who co-authored the Pentagon report, said, “Even I’m surprised at how often it’s referred to…
Asked about his scenarios for the 2003-2010 period, Mr. Randall said in an interview: “The report was really looking at worst-case. And when you are looking at worst-case 10 years out, you are not trying to predict precisely what’s going to happen but instead trying to get people to understand what could happen to motivate strategic decision-making and wake people up. But whether the actual specifics came true, of course not. That never was the main intent.”…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/1/pentagon-wrestles-with-false-climate-predictions-a/?page=all
Harper & Abbott have some bipartisan support in DC:
11 June: WOWK TV: Mandi Cardosi: Lawmakers in Congress introduce bill to stop EPA carbon emission rules
It has been one week since President Barack Obama announced a new proposed rule capping carbon emissions for existing power plants – leaving West Virginia officials frantic.
On June 10, U.S. Reps. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va, and David McKinley, R-W.Va., introduced a bill to stop it.
“Last week, the EPA unleashed its latest assault on the jobs and livelihoods of our coal miners,” Rahall said in a news release. “The EPA needs to get their head out of the clouds and come back down to Earth where the rest of us must live and work. We don’t need more regulation to solve our energy challenges — we need more innovation.”…
Rahall and McKinley’s bill (H.R. 4813), which already has 68 cosponsors, would terminate the new rule for existing power plants, along with the proposed rule for future power plants. In addition, to prevent some sleight of hand maneuver by the EPA, the bill will aim to block the issuance of similar rules for at least the next 5 years without Congressional approval.
“I have fought with our coal miners for years, defending their jobs, promoting their health and safety, and protecting the pension and health care benefits they’ve worked so hard to earn,” Rahall added. “So when someone picks a fight with our coal miners, I put on the gloves. This may be one whale of a fight, but I am not slugging it out alone. …
http://www.wowktv.com/story/25738760/lawmakers-in-congress-introduce-bill-to-stop-epa-carbon-emission-rules
Don’t underestimate Tony Abbott, he is a seasoned politician, and I agree with his former opposition statement, Climate change is crap. Obviously he doesn’t want to sound absolutely climate denial. But a lot of new senators haven’t a clue what Clive is attempting. He is using politics to benefit his own agendas and a recent interview with Mike Willessie was absolutely laughable. Mind you, some of his ideas are not too bad, but he is not in the Senate and thinks he can control how his party in the Senate can vote. Anyway the Chinese are after him in a big way and claiming he used 12 million of their money to boost his political funding of his party and the Qld government are investigating if he is guilty of corruption. You don’t take on the Chinese Clive.
“The UK has a crabon tax” This is the best description of a Carbon Tax that I have ever seen, It reminds me of some days at the beach which resulted in much pain and no gain.