Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Australia’s oversized footprint

By Andrew Bartlett - posted Friday, 22 June 2007


For a country of just 21 million, Australia has a huge impact on the global ecosphere. Domestically, the CSIRO have just estimated that our less than one third of a per cent of the world's population produces 1.43 per cent of its CO2 (more than 4½ times our share proportionally) and there is much we could and should be doing to address that. Unfortunately, our government has been a standard bearer for the “business as usual” lobby - preferring to deny, delay and dodge any movement to address the issues.

With so many of our exports being used in industries around the world and directly contributing to global emissions, it is criminal for our government to be actively sabotaging international efforts to combat climate change.

I am not advocating a withdrawal from the export market, but if we continue to go down that path, then we must take some moral responsibility for it and be a global leader, not a spoiler, in tackling climate change.

Advertisement

Australia should be leading the way in shifting our economy to a sustainable footing, rather than dragging our heels, waiting for other nations to do the heavy lifting with regards to researching and implementing more responsible technologies and practices.

Suggestions by Treasurer Peter Costello that our economy will crash if we take serious action on greenhouse are as misguided as they are erroneous. There is no doubt that failure to combat and compensate for climate change will result in dire economic consequences. With rapidly changing weather patterns and unusual weather events we are leaving ourselves open to serious economic consequences in the wake of rising sea levels, droughts or floods.

These consequences of inaction would be far worse economically than any short-term pain associated with action to address human-made climate change.

However, suggestions that it will be relatively easy to adapt to the changes required to arrest or slow this environmental disaster, and that alternative jobs will just appear to replace the old ones lost in industries such as mining and logging are equally blinkered.

We cannot kid ourselves that the problem will be solved only by the application of appropriate technology and a carbon pricing mechanism. In order to have any sustainable impact we need to significantly change our behaviour. This will take some effort and some sacrifices, but with reasonable planning and good leadership, these required changes need not cause major upheavals or disadvantages.

Australia’s reliance on coal for our nation’s energy and its unwillingness to adopt alternative energy sources has contributed greatly to our status as a high carbon emitter.

Advertisement

As a nation we have lagged in the use of alternative energy sources despite plenty of expertise and resources. We have failed to fully embrace wind, solar, geothermal or wave power in any significant way, largely for fear of the impact this will have on our mining industry - the new “sheep’s back” we precariously live off.

Our fossil-fuel dependence and the relatively low cost of this form of energy has made it much harder to adopt alternative energy models due to lack of strong political leadership in this area. It also makes it much harder to adapt to changes in fuel reliance in the short-term.

The inevitable increase in the cost of carbon along with the abundance of fossil fuel gives Australia’s federal government much greater long-term incentives to develop alternative energy technologies. Australia cannot continue to generate high emissions and expect this to be accepted internationally. As countries examine their rate of carbon emissions and take steps to make significant reductions, Australia must not expect to receive special treatment by the virtue of our primary industry strengths. These strengths are rapidly becoming weaknesses and we are not doing enough to counter them.

  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

36 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Andrew Bartlett has been active in politics for over 20 years, including as a Queensland Senator from 1997-2008. He graduated from University of Queensland with a degree in social work and has been involved in a wide range of community organisations and issues, including human rights, housing, immigration, Indigneous affairs, environment, animal rights and multiculturalism. He is a member of National Forum. He blogs at Bartlett's Blog.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Andrew Bartlett

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Andrew Bartlett
Article Tools
Comment 36 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy