We
interpret everything according to our own experiences. With that in mind, it
would seem somewhat surprising that in Australia, of all places, a startlingly
high number of people still deny climate change. Most Australians do believe in
it, but in a country that no longer has a science minister, the newly-elected
conservative government is populated by “leaders” who believe that it
is some kind of conspiracy.
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The
media that the average Australian consumes is overwhelmingly populated by
sources which are owned by people of a highly conservative and libertarian
belief. Libertarianism—the belief that people should be free to do as they wish
so long as they do not impinge on the freedom of others, is a decidedly
human-centric philosophy and as such, large-scale environmental problems are
generally not well-handled. In the minds of people like Rupert Murdoch, among
others, environmental regulations are an unnecessary burden on people’s
freedom, and even if you don’t really believe that, if that’s what
you read in the newspaper every day, then that’s what you will be led to believe.
Looking
at the numbers, we simply cannot deny the effects of climate change. Last
summer was the hottest on record, and Australia is a country known for hot
summers. I’ve followed electoral politics in Australia for quite some time, and
in November 2009 Tony Abbott (now Prime Minister of Australia) ascended to the
leadership of the conservative party after ousting then-leader Malcolm Turnbull
42 votes to 41. The issue that divided the party? Climate change—Tony didn’t
believe in it, and by extension, neither do the party faithful.
Wiping climate
change off the political agenda
So in a rebirth of
cold economic rationalism, what does this mean for Australia apart from not
thinking science important enough to warrant a dedicated minister? One of the
first acts of the new government was to abolish the Australian climate
commission. As a country with such sensitive ecosystems, and a climate that is
particularly sensitive to impacts, it was felt by the previous government that
effectively communicating climate science to the public was important. I guess
the current government was not able to justify spending a measly 5.4 million
AUD (about USD 5.08) over four years to communicate to the public the effects
of one of the largest existential threats ever to face humankind. The above
infographic was one of many released by the commission during its brief
existence.
High on the upcoming
agenda for the new government is to remove the carbon tax. Brought in just over
a year ago, Australia’s CO2 emissions were down 11 percent from
2008—2009 levels, but one of the central campaign promises of Tony Abbott’s new
government was to scrap the tax, which would make Australia the first and only
country in the world to do such a thing. Will this make a big difference in the
global scheme of things? No. Australia is responsible for about 1.5 percent of
global emissions, but how a country like Australia deals with the dual
challenges of climate change and meeting Kyoto targets will be
closely watched because of its physical geography. Its climate and population
distribution present immense logistical challenges as it is, indicated by a
per-capita carbon footprint of about 20 tons (slightly higher than the United
States).
Read more: WorldWatch Institute
Base Images from Shutterstock, morphed by Robin Blackstone