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I agree with you, but then what? This is an "everyone" problem, not an "Australia" problem.

pjc50 7y ago
Australia could stop trying to game or sabotage the existing efforts of "everyone": https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/australia-climate-carry-over-credits-slammed-cop25/11793818 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/australia-climate-car...
- StavrosK 7y ago
  Indeed, hence my agreement, but everyone else needs to do the same.
  - radicalbyte 7y ago
    If Australia and the USA both came to their senses then climate action would very much happen. China could also take the lead here; it's actually surprising that they aren't because it's an ideal opportunity for them to project power on a global scale and an important step in their replacing the USA as the global super power.
    - pjc50 7y ago
      Climate action does not project power or offer an economic return. It's pretty much guaranteed to be the opposite - forgoing an opportunity or building things at your expense in order to not disadvantage the rest of the world.
      - bdamm 7y ago
        That's not guaranteed to be true. Leading the way on fostering new cleantech is a way to get ahead of the same cleantech industries elsewhere. The question is really how good can the timing be rather than if it's going to happen.
  - crispinb 7y ago
    Sure, but that needn't connote Australia waiting for everyone else. Given our extreme vulnerability to climate change (on most accounts, we're one of the worst-placed wealthy nations), our government should be fighting like hell on every possible international front for the strongest possible action. Our current government won't really even try, for extrinsic reasons; but even if it wanted to, it couldn't. Our piss-weak policies and decadal political sclerosis make us a laughing stock in the relevant international forums. This has only recently become apparent, as there's a lot of momentum in international affairs, and Australia did have a decent stock of political capital. But it's well and truly depleted now, at least in this area. Only serious domestic action on emissions can get our federal government positioned to actually do its job and make all possible efforts to protect the nation.
adrianN 7y ago
Australia does export a lot of coal. If they stopped doing that the price would probably rise a bit. AFAIK many coal plants are already barely profitable.

Australia could stop trying to game or sabotage the existing efforts of "everyone": https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/australia-climate-carry-over-credits-slammed-cop25/11793818 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/australia-climate-car...

StavrosK 7y ago
Indeed, hence my agreement, but everyone else needs to do the same.
- radicalbyte 7y ago
  If Australia and the USA both came to their senses then climate action would very much happen. China could also take the lead here; it's actually surprising that they aren't because it's an ideal opportunity for them to project power on a global scale and an important step in their replacing the USA as the global super power.
  - pjc50 7y ago
    Climate action does not project power or offer an economic return. It's pretty much guaranteed to be the opposite - forgoing an opportunity or building things at your expense in order to not disadvantage the rest of the world.
    - bdamm 7y ago
      That's not guaranteed to be true. Leading the way on fostering new cleantech is a way to get ahead of the same cleantech industries elsewhere. The question is really how good can the timing be rather than if it's going to happen.
- crispinb 7y ago
  Sure, but that needn't connote Australia waiting for everyone else. Given our extreme vulnerability to climate change (on most accounts, we're one of the worst-placed wealthy nations), our government should be fighting like hell on every possible international front for the strongest possible action. Our current government won't really even try, for extrinsic reasons; but even if it wanted to, it couldn't. Our piss-weak policies and decadal political sclerosis make us a laughing stock in the relevant international forums. This has only recently become apparent, as there's a lot of momentum in international affairs, and Australia did have a decent stock of political capital. But it's well and truly depleted now, at least in this area. Only serious domestic action on emissions can get our federal government positioned to actually do its job and make all possible efforts to protect the nation.

adrianN 7y ago

Australia does export a lot of coal. If they stopped doing that the price would probably rise a bit. AFAIK many coal plants are already barely profitable.