Don't follow the leaders

Hobart Mercury
Tuesday 22/9/2009 Page: 18

OUR politicians are failing us. Our administrations are failing us. Our corporate leaders are failing us. In unison, they are marching ever deeper into a mire. They have no idea how to escape: some don't even seem to know the mire exists. Mention the danger ahead or offer possible escape routes and you are met with mindless reassurances and dead cliches. Like a slow-motion march of the lemmings, we are witnessing a failure of leadership on a massive scale. And like failed leaders down the centuries, today's leading players still seem to think we should put our trust in them, close our eyes and follow them down their path to oblivion.

With the physical reality of climate change now upon us (if only they knew it), our leaders can't see that the behaviour that served then so well in tunes past - spin, political deal-making, time honoured delaying and diversionary tactics - is a dangerous mistake. Kevin Rudd has now provided us with proof positive that when it carves to climate change, lie just doesn't get it. Last week, as our national Parliament degenerated once more into yet another playground punch-up, a departing Brendan Nelson told the clamber there was no point in Australia acting to curb its carbon emissions ahead of the "big emitters" such as China and India. After all, he declared, Australia is responsible for only 1.4% of global emissions.

With its free permits for major polluters and its sleight-of-hand, conscience-easing offsetting schemes, the Rudd Government's emissions trading legislation is far from the panacea that its proponents would have us believe. But Dr Nelson neither knows nor cares what the scheme might or might not do for Australian emissions. For him, ambitious targets are an anathema - even Australia's 5 to 10% reduction by 2050 is questionable - and emissions trading means just another tax burden.

You would think Mr Rudd would feel miffed by this attack on a key policy issue, but not a bit of it. The day after Dr Nelson's farewell, Mr Rudd proudly trotted him out as his new ambassador to the European Union. It was as if they had always been best mates. In case it has escaped the attention of Mr Rudd and Dr Nelson, Europe is the home of carbon trading and the world's most ambitious carbon-cutting targets. In December last year it implemented mandatory 2020 targets of 20% renewable energy, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, and a 20% reduction in emissions.

Our new ambassador to Europe has a lot to learn. So, it would seen, does our Prime Minister. So here's a brief primer in Australia's progress towards a clean, green future. Both men like to use national totals as the benchmark for judging who is most responsible for cutting emissions: Australia has a low national total because we have a small population. But the only meaningful way to pleasure carbon emissions is per person. On this basis, in 2006 (the most recent year for comprehensive international emissions figures), Australia ranked worst of all on the G20 list (19 nations when you take out the EU). We were only a little better when it came to reducing emissions over the 10 preceding years, at 15th out of 19.

Perhaps the most troubling statistic is contained in G20 low carbon competitiveness, a report released last week by the UK-based Vivid Economics and endorsed by the UK climate economist Sir Nicholas Stern. This report found that among G20 countries, Australia is very poorly placed (ranked 16th out of 19) to meet the currently accepted 2050 international carbon target of 450 parts per million by volume of greenhouse gases. That target is below what Australia is currently aiming for (550 parts per million), but is 100 parts per million above what science says will keep us below the danger level of 2C of warming. We have a long, long way to go.

pb@climatetasmania.com.au