CoP26 debacle

With just 3 weeks to go:

  • the Prime Minister announced today that, yes, he will go to Glasgow for CoP26. 
  • he may or may not have a plausible plan to reduce emissions – it’s still being ‘finalised’. 
  • the Nationals will meet on Sunday but some, mainly the Queenslanders, say they will never agree to the net zero target.
  • and it looks like we will be the last to know what the 2030 target is or the other one another 20 years from then.

Not helping, the IPA – that stalwart of conservative idealogues – is running big ads daily in the Herald Sun saying climate change is a furphy and what’s needed is ‘efficient’ coal or nuclear power. They and Andrew Bolt are doing their best to undermine News Corp’s newfound commitment to net-zero so contradiction all around.

In Glasgow, the PM will doubtless crow about our emission reductions, almost all of which were due to action by state governments, the plummeting cost of renewables, and the good folk who could afford the almost 3 million solar installations now on rooftops.

The plan will be hastily cobbled together and compromised by lack of enthusiasm and trickery, an abhorrence of renewables, last-minute sweeteners for the regions, and good old tried-but-failed carbon sequestration.

In case that won’t be embarrassing enough, the image of the PM holding up a chunk of coal in the Parliament four years ago, taunting the Parliament to be not afraid was so ludicrous it made news around the world and most CoP attendees will remember this idiocy.

Back then the PM got away with the threats that wind and solar power would create blackouts, that electric cars would ruin weekend bush-bashing. He promised the fairy tale that coal could be clean and backed new coal mines. He promised the technology would be neutral but gave massive handouts to the gas-led recovery. He ignored the need to invest in the power grid to enable renewables to transport their power to it. 

Perhaps he should give Glasgow a miss and we can hope the surveys showing that 75% of voters want action will mean the next government has to act.

And, by the way, isn’t this important enough for the parliament to debate and have the final say on what’s being taken to Glasgow?

Vote Democrats. The country needs us to get back on climate track.

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