Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Surprise! When Aussies re-elected conservative PM Scott Morrison in the last national election, we thought we were rejecting the hardline climate madness of the Labor opposition party. Turns out we were mistaken.
Morrison eyeing more ambitious climate target of net zero by 2050
By David Crowe
February 1, 2021 — 7.16pmA more ambitious climate change target will be part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s agenda for the year ahead after he expressed his hope to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a goal that divides government MPs.
Mr Morrison signalled his hope to set the target as government policy before the next election, after months of internal Coalition debate and a rebuff from global leaders in December because he would not make the pledge.
…
“Our goal is to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050,” he said.
Mr Morrison said this would depend on science and technology, such as driving down the cost of clean energy from hydrogen, rather than a “tax” in the form of a price on carbon.
…
Asked on Monday whether he could commit to net zero by 2050 in time for the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in November, Mr Morrison said the answer depended on the science and technology.
“When I can tell you how we get there, that’s when I’ll tell you when we’re going to get there,” he said.
…
Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-eyeing-more-ambitious-climate-target-of-net-zero-by-2050-20210201-p56yj3.html
It is possible Scott Morrison, who famously brought a lump of coal to parliament, is just playing for time, trying to delay real action until Americans tire of Job Killer Joe and his magic pen.
But words have consequences. If Scott Morrison doesn’t try to find at least a little backbone on this issue, it seems likely Australia could be rushed into a raft of economically destructive climate actions, just when the economy is starting to show a few signs of recovery from the Covid lockdowns.
You cannot trust 97% of politicians.
Make that 100%
There are a few who are reliably insane.
And the main theorem is The Golden Rule.
Bezo, Zuck and all the folks growing their hedge funds, etc.
That Australian pledge is looking doable ever since China backed away from buying significant energy intensive commodities from there. Then, all that’s needed to close down those unmarketable production streams currently sustained with fossil fuels would be something we voters in America call an Executive Order from dear leader.
Coal exports from Australia are strong, surprisingly. I suspect the Chinese might be buying it using front companies and smuggling it. Or perhaps the Chinese have displaced other purchasers, and they are coming to Australia to make up the shortfall. Either way its not causing a problem, so far.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-15/newcastle-coal-exports-continue-to-new-markets-amid-china-ban/13060130
So hard for govts like Australia and maybe others to take the different path. Peer pressure, trade sanctions etc. now that Trumps gone it’s looking bleak
Let’s remember that long-serving Prime Minister John Howard (Rudd’s predecessor) stated the position in 2007 that Australia would move to reduce CO2 emissions when the rest of the world was demonstrably underway with their measures.
(being as how Australia only contributes 1.4% of the world’s industrial emissions)
Current PM Scott Morrison would be well advised to adopt the same approach still.
Australia could simply say they will follow what China does.
You’ll be a pariah in the international community if you don’t pledge something. 2050 sounds about right. By 2035 climate hysteria will have settled down.
Australia are already international pariahs, we’re major coal exporters.
Why isn’t Norway then ? OIL !!
Norway is spending down their resource fund with lots of green virtue signalling. I’d prefer Australia to spend money like that on medicine, better care for the elderly, and education, rather than paying some rent-a-mob to say how wonderful we are.
Doesn’t matter if they hate us, so long as they keep buying our stuff.
That’s it then, pledge.
Non-binding, with lots of loop holes and contingent on a massive investment in nuclear power and a super-conducting grid!
I see your point but once a policy with a date is public the street activists and lawfare enablers will use it to try and shut down any fossil fuel project. They are doing it now and a firm commitment by government like a zero emissions (of CO2 presumably but they rarely say that for some reason) by xx would ramp it exponentially.
Enthusiasm for expensive fossil fuels and nuclear may be popular here, but they are not popular in Australia. Politicians are all about getting elected, and with one exception (Tony Abbott) Australian ploiticians tend to be pragmatic rather than ideological.
Being an international pariah: one of the few rich countries not to sign up to carbon neutrality by 2050, doesn’t suit Morrison, as climate “skeptics” are a rapidly shrinking minority.
Pretty sure the media said something about skeptics being a shrinking minority in Australia, before Labor got annihilated after running on a hardline climate platform. The enthusiasm tends to dry up pretty quickly when politicians start hinting about new taxes to pay for it all.
Tony Abbott was highly rational and pragmatic.
That was his problem. !
No wonder the ABC and other far-left yappers hated him so much.
And what was his massive majority at the one election he partook in. !!
27 seat majority.
Ditching expensive fossil fuels and nuclear, by going to the 10 times more expensive renewable power sources? That’s not smart.
As to us catastrophic climate change skeptics shrinking in number, that’s only true after you cook the numbers. Then again, cooking the numbers is the only thing your scientists are good at.
No mention of the failed CSP projects?
“If you do a belly dance for a bear it won’t eat you.”
Fact check: FALSE
Let us hope that Scott Morrison is playing for time against the Global Warmist Insanity, Given thirty years into the future, they may well be off on some other wild goose chase. Or they may have noticed that the electricity is only on for 6 hours a day and they don’t like that.
When discussing politicians it’s important to understand the difference between the concept of honesty and trust.
In certain circumstances citizens don’t mind if their politicians are dishonest because they trust them to do the right thing.
If spinning bs is able to keep the left of his back, so he can focus on other policies I’m fine with that.
Just remember every alarmist keeps doubling down on more dangerous climate change damages further into the future, so why can’t a politician double down on taking more action further into the future.
I think I prefer my politicians to be straight shooters. The problem with devious politicians is you don’t know who the target of their deception is.
“I prefer my politicians to be straight shooters”
So you have a choice of …
zero
You can’t be reliable 90% of the time….
Morrison follows the ‘science’ of the CSIRO. his preferred ‘experts’.
All of my emails to him, the last one congratulating him for not being invited to the last gab-fest, elicited the same response as always – “We follow the (selected and cherry-picked)science”.
Maybe my next one, soon, will get a different response (I’m retired so can spend time looking for the flying pigs).
Scott Morrison seems to believe he’s got the next election all sorted out; we’ll see.
I for one as mad as hell about this , we are living through the coldest summer in living memory and their doing this ,lost me.
“we are living through the coldest summer in living memory”
yes, but its ‘the Hottest coldest summer in living memory’ so worse than we thought;
now do you understand ?
Since 2013 Australia has had 4 federal elections – all focused on a climate change emergency.
At each election climate change (as an issue) was defeated, by the electoral will of the people.
Yet, here we are – replaying ‘attack of the zombies’ on an infinite loop…
It’s the new normal.Keep holding elections till you get the desired result and then never have an election again
Morrison is a politician and wants to stay with the “vibe” so that he constitutes a small target for the Opposition on climate change come election time.
He may well succeed.
However policies have consequences.
When Australian PM John Howard allowed a small Renewables target in 1999, the consequence was the growth of an industry sucking up vast public monies to no national benefit.
Paris is the International “Tar Baby” of public administration, as Morrison and President Biden will discover.
No action by the 28 Developed countries will achieve anything while Paris is a voluntary compact and developing countries have no monetary or emission obligations, just ‘best endeavours’
As James Hansen has said to The Guardian, Paris is “a fraud” and “ a farce”.
My understanding from Biden’s speaches, is that if Australia does not toe the US line on climate policy, then the USA will impose significant penalties on Australia. The Australian Government consequently changed policy as it looked like Biden/Harris had won.
The impact of US policy on the Australian economy cannot be underestimated. China is currently showing it’s displeasure with Australia, but honestly, it’s a feather duster touch compared to Biden. With friends like Biden, who needs enemies.
US trade with Australia is dwarfed by Australian exports to China. I’m not denying Biden can cause a lot of harm, but not enough to crush Australia into submission.
boot US bases out and see how fast they change their tune! Invite Russian bases in, or just invite Lavrov for a visit to look at them and build trade ties with Russia. This would change their tune a bit!
Impose penalties on friends and allies? Who needs enemies with friends like that?
Perhaps he’s just bought a load of shares in renewables.
Following in Malcolm Turncoat’s footsteps?
Actually, Malcolm did his purchasing by proxy through his son, Alex.
Open question to the MSM: If Climate Change(tm) is so popular in Australia, why do The Greens only get about 8% of the popular vote?
Face it, there has been hard proof since Climate Change(tm) was invented that there are people who don’t believe in it, people who don’t care about it and people who want the government to action on it.
There is NO ONE who wants to pay for it themselves.
Climate Change is ballot box poison.
Nailed it.
A. Although they are called the Greens they are not really greenies.
They are watermelons who push a range of radical far left policies such as supporting illegal immigrants, legalising drugs and safe injecting rooms.
They don’t actually have any ability to manage anything.
Thus have a limit of how many voters they can attract. Nevertheless, both major parties need their vote.
hes not silly or agreeing
[this would depend on science and technology, such as driving down the cost of clean energy from hydrogen]
cos he KNOWS they wont produce cheap hydrogen without CHEAP fossil fuels to create it.
ABC ran the greens adam bandt after that announcement
whining moaning its not enough and covering 3 topics no one gives a stuff about
only abc gives the useless git airtime!
Among the many things I learned as an elected official is that no matter how sincerely one promises to do or not do certain things on the way into office, the more difficult it is to maintain those promises over time. We are subjected to round the clock lying (gaslighting), and pressure by the goo that inhabit all of the administrative offices permanently.
You have to be there to really understand. What kept my compass true during those years was, in fact, science and skepticism. The paper reports they would provide when they were pushing some agenda or another contained the very information that illuminated the lies, or undermined their narrative. All one had to do was read the report with a skeptical mind, and then question it in a public way. Even the press would occasionally catch on — not often, though.
You must have regarded “Yes Minister” as a skills development course?
I watched a bit of that program some 30+ years ago, and it is very like what goes on, but the program was funnier. I was happy to not run for re-election and give the headache to someone else. What good I did i am sure has been undone. Politics is the antithesis of what I really like in life.
Maybe the green liberals should just join the greens
It’s like your community association pledging food donations to the food bank for the next 20 years. Everybody knows it is not under their control and is only a virtue signalling photo opportunity.
China’s communists are laughing their butts off. They plan on owning Australia by then.
Plan? Sorry, that plan is in full execution mode.
Go large with a 2100 pledge instead.
Morrison is backed into a corner. Not only have the opposition latched onto the AGW scam as a stick to beat him with there are traitors in his own party trying to ramp up the CC policies for reasons it is hard to fathom. Perhaps just naked greed to get wealthy on the renewables money train or, more disturbingly, they actually believe the climate emergency nonsense the media is promoting on behalf of the activists.
Morrison inherited a lot of believers (and possibly those with vest interests in renewables) from Malcolm Turncoat’s cabinet. Hunt and Frydenberg are just 2 of the more obvious ones.
I have been approached by employment agencies to work for Govn’t departments one being the Electoral Commission. That means only one thing. Shouty (Morrison) will call a federal election late this year or early 2022. So this net zero (BS) emissions pledge is to try to win swinging voters.
“Our goal is to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, and preferably by 2050,”
Translation: We will end of modern civilization in the next 40 years and do everything possible to reduce atmosphere CO2 levels back to where photosynthesis barely works.
There’s ~195 member states in the UN.
There’s ~ 2, maybe 5 members without representation / including states without regimen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=un+members+total&oq=un+members+&aqs=chrome.
Of that ~195 states there’s / hopefully / 5, in words five, climate funding net payers:
US, UK, Germany, Italy and España.
Guess how many states brave holding up hands for warm green bucks rains.
https://www.google.com/search?q=green+bucks+meaning&oq=Green+bucks+&aqs=chrome.