The COP20 climate talks in Lima, Peru concluded yesterday. It will take a while to sift through the outcomes and figure out what they mean, but for now I want to concentrate on the Australian government, which has unsurprisingly continued its crusade against climate action. Unlike last year when Australia didn’t bother to send a …
Tag: UNFCCC
Sep 23 2014
The climate speech Tony Abbott should make
Australian PM Tony Abbott isn’t going to the Ban-Ki-Moon climate summit in New York City on 23 September. He should be, and these are the carefully scripted remarks that he should make there. I humbly stand before you to seek forgiveness from the delegates present, and from all citizens of the Earth, for my thoughtless …
Sep 21 2014
Bendigo People’s Climate speech: we need action now!
Human-caused global warming is the greatest threat facing humanity. Just this week I was reading up on the latest science. It makes pretty depressing reading. Politicians are stuck on outdated advice that major impacts and feedbacks lie beyond two degrees of warming. But the science is telling us we’re already hitting some at just three-quarters …
Nov 16 2013
Climate talks more farcical than ever
Wisdom from the official website of the COP19 climate talks. Delegates of the world’s governments are currently gathered in Warsaw, Poland for the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – global climate talks to us laypeople. During previous COPs, I’ve examined the negotiating positions and outcomes …
Nov 13 2013
Why “Typhoon Tony” Abbott should read Harry Potter
Today, on the first day of Australia’s 44th Parliament, new Prime Minister Tony Abbott introduced legislation to repeal the carbon tax. Meanwhile at the COP19 climate talks in Warsaw, snubbed by Australian ministers, Filipino delegate Yeb Sano made an emotional plea for action: It was barely 11 months ago in Doha when my delegation made …
Nov 08 2013
Tony Abbott cuts out Australia’s brain
Australia’s new Liberal/National Coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, today announced an immediate freeze on recruitment and contract renewal across almost all areas of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the nation’s main scientific research agency. Because CSIRO has a large proportion of “non-ongoing” staff, the freeze threatens to cut 1,400 …
Precarious Climate
- Surprise energy announcement!
- Could Prime Minister Morrison really make anything worse?
- Could Prime Minister Dutton really make anything worse?
- Bendigo Climate Drawdown Summit
- The Paris Agreement was a sham anyway
- Australian election: say no to the polluting major parties
- Will Turnbull act on climate?
- Are we approaching peak stupidity?
- Is Turnbull a green Liberal?
- 2014 the warmest year as global heating speeds up