Guest essay by Eric Worrall
What a shocker – Australia is not rushing to meet John Kerry’s request to give up one of our main export industries on the timeframe of Kerry’s choosing.
Joe Biden’s climate envoy admits US and Australia not on ‘same page’
John Kerry’s comments, including a call for a faster exit from coal power, add to pressure on the Coalition to do more
Daniel Hurst and Adam Morton
Wed 24 Feb 2021 03.30 AEDT…
In an event last weekend marking his country’s return to the Paris agreement, Kerry said the US needed to regain credibility by adopting a strong new target for 2030, due to be announced in April. He said he would work “in a collegiate manner with other countries around the world”, before specifically mentioning Australia and the part it played at a deadlocked 2019 climate conference.
“For instance, I’ve talked to Australia – we had a very good conversation,” Kerry said in an extended conversation with former US vice-president Al Gore posted online over the weekend.
“Australia has had some differences with us, we’ve not been able to get on the same page completely. That was one of the problems in Madrid as you recall, together with Brazil.”
…
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, discussed climate policy with his Australian, Japanese and Indian counterparts in last week’s Quad talks.
Biden said late last week countries could “no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change” because it was “a global, existential crisis, and we’ll all suffer the consequences if we fail”.
…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/24/joe-bidens-climate-envoy-admits-us-and-australia-not-on-same-page
Far from cutting coal use, I strongly suspect the Biden administration will preside over the greatest surge in coal demand the world has ever seen.
China and Japan, for all their faults, are doing what the West refused to do – building thousands of new coal plants, helping Africa, Asia and South America to rapidly industrialise, helping them to raise their standards of living to Western levels. In a decade, the smoke of Australian, South African and South American coal will rise over new industrial heartlands in what today are some of the poorest places in the world.
Even people who aren’t connected to the growing electricity grid and new manufacturing and trade hubs will benefit, as rising CO2 fertilises their crops, and shields their crops from droughts.
Nobody has the diplomatic stature to block the path of poor people who have tasted a little hope, not even the President of the USA – and certainly not John Kerry. But if the USA goes out of its way to place obstacles in the path of progress, people will remember.
Let us all hope and celebrate the possibility of 450ppm CO2 by 2030. Because every increase in the rate of rise of atmospheric CO2 is unequivocal proof that a poverty stricken country has finally begun its long march to join the ranks of the wealthy nations, begun its journey to bring hope to its children of a better future.
There is a quote attributed to Frederick Bastiat “When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will”.
The Chinese government is probably aware that its energy and raw materials supplies can be cut off at the straits of Malacca choke point, they have an incentive to maintain diplomacy. The Australian government will also have to be wary of becoming used as a proxy by the US federal government in their trade war with China. Cut off energy supplies to China and their military will take a more direct approach for much the same reasons Japan did in the decade prior to Pearl harbour.
‘China and Japan, for all their faults, are doing what the West refused to do – building thousands of new coal plants’
I think you need an update on Japanese coal plant building…
Japan has now just 8 GW of new coal capacity in the pipeline … but! by 2030 plans to retire 30 GW of inefficient plant… and the Japanese govt has started limiting Japanese investment in overseas coal.
And the news elsewhere in Asia shows a trend away from coal…
In Bangladesh the government was planning to “review” all but three of the country’s under-development coal plants, capping coal power capacity at 5GW. Planned coal plants totalling 23GW are in doubt.
Vietnam’s draft Power Development Plan, which is due to come into force in 2022, proposed cancelling seven coal plants and postponing six others until the 2030s, by which point it is highly unlikely they will go ahead. The 13 plants represent almost half of Vietnam’s planned coal power development.
the Philippines’ Department of Energy has proposed a moratorium on new coal power plants which could lead to 9.6GW of cancellations. And, in December 2020, Pakistan’s Imran Khan announced that the country would not construct any new coal power plants, though the real-world impact of this grandiose announcement has been questioned.
According to Global Energy Monitor (GEM) the coal power pipeline in South and Southeast Asia’s four major emerging economies may have dropped by as much as 62GW in 2020. That leaves just 25GW under development, an 80% decline from just five years ago. Exact figures for cancelled and remaining plants will depend on how last year’s announcements is manifested in specific policies.
We’re in the middle of a global economic setback caused by Covid lockdowns, but it won’t last forever.
Even rich companies cannot afford the cost of going renewable, so there is no chance poor countries will be able to go renewable.
Poor countries, once they have exhausted hydro opportunities, have no option other than coal or gas.
A year or so ago, China announced that because of an economic slowdown, the number of coal plants they were projecting to build over the next 5 years had dropped from 640 to 600.
For the next 6 months, griff was proclaiming that China had announced that they were going to stop building coal plants.
griff see’s what she wants to see. Nothing more, nothing less. If you pay her more, she’ll see what you want her to see.
China is certainly planning less coal – at the top govt level. But of course regional govt seems to be able to get round that. Paradoxical in a centrist communist state…
Reading China is like 70s Kremlinology. Nevertheless, even the Chinese accept Climate change as a reality and will do something…
Of course they have an alternative – solar or wind. And solar doesn’t have to be PV panels either. Plus solar is installable where there isn’t a grid.
Fixed for ya.
I’ve posted fact about cancelled coal programmes. Feel free to check those facts.
John Kerry Disappointed Australia Wants to Keep Importing Money
Subtitle:
Wonders why they don’t find a rich widow
Lib govt here is teetering due to Craig Kelly going independent yesterday
Labour n greens are cheering as they push idiotic rape claims(2yrs to file with police) as a means to try n gain ground.
Kelly is browned off at freedom of speech issues re HQ and ivermectin safety
the mindless cancel culturists super vax mobs are out for blood on any who naysay their agenda.
funny sad story?
some idiot GP managed to give 2 elderly 80+ and 92 yr olds waaay over the 1ml vax dose today
hysterics ensue.
John Kerry is a dink. He’s never been anything else. And he’s about as useful as hair on a frog. That is all.
And I’m dissappointed that Washington DC wants to continue exporting hogwash.
BINGO !
Three idiots on the same page:
TED Talks:
About the speakers
John Kerry
Al Gore
Christiana Figueres
Kerry is another JFK and wants to get us into another Vietnam of sorts.
The only thing John Kerry is not disappointed with, but should be, is John Kerry.
Wait, Kerry is guilty of some extraordinary Climate Chutpah here. We’ve essentially been AWOL from the Paris Klimate Klub the past four years. I think there’s supposed to be a period of hazing, and of proving that we’re worthy. Get ready for some serious punishment of the US at the next climate shindig in Glasgow. We’re bad.
“give up one of our main export industries on the timeframe of Kerry’s choosing.” Australia has its own timeframe for that?
Online sources are not sure who said this. Some say it was Lincoln. Others say Mark Twain. Others say it originated from The Bible….
“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
Kerry doesn’t know it, but the above quote could easily apply to him when he opens his mouth about climate.
Proverbs 17:28
New Living Translation
Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.
What is it with the Obama/Biden Administrations? They seem bound and determined to insult and defame our allies and cozy up to our enemies. Are progressives all self-loathing masochists?
Communists are their friends.
Who knew that the lowly chocolate bar would produce such nonsense.
I see he didn’t say anything about Cdn and USA coal exports out of BC. BC exports tons of USA coal (as well as its own) to mostly Asian markets. BC has the biggest coal exporting port in North America. But, the Biden administration and Trudeau are bum buddies, so, yea, pick on the Aussies.
“John Kerry — throwing America under the bus for personal gain and advancement since 1971.”
And now trying to add Australia.
An interesting situation caused by China’s refusal to buy Australian coal recently is that China is buying it from the US. https://www.thegwpf.com/chinas-us-coal-imports-jump-748-amid-australian-trade-dispute/. I bet Kerry is really disapointed about that.
He should go and personally stop the boats carrying coal from leaving the American shores.
John Kerry is not nearly ashamed at Australia as Australia is ashamed at John Kerry.
What a bloody dill you are, Kerry. Suggest you learn something about Australia before you open your big mouth.
PS While you are there learn something about science too.
Using Australian coal in China benefits the planet as a whole in that Chinese coal is largely high-sulphur, leading to smog, acid rain, and similar unpleasantness, but Australian coal is low-sulphur leading to reduced health problems and cleaner atmosphere. Regardless of the US climate religion, China will continue to burn coal. Is it better that they try to reduce the unpleasant results ?
If the “Diggers” didn’t do it, then someone else would come along and take over the work.
I suspect that John Kerry left his “page” on a Swift Boat in Viet Nam along with his integrity, honor and contact with the truth.