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https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-modest-climate-target-this-is-what-collective-failure-looks-like/>
"Federal climate and energy minister Chris Bowen was right about one thing: Not
many people would be happy with the federal government’s newly announced 2035
emissions target. Some would think it too high and others too low.
In the end the federal government, on the advice of the Climate Change
Authority, pitched a range – 62 per cent to 70 per cent below 2005 levels –
that satisfied few, not the business lobbies obsessed by the costs of doing
something, nor the environmentalists and others focused on the even greater
risks of not doing enough.
The bottom line is that this is what collective failure looks like.
Don’t lay all the blame on the current government, or its advisors, or any
individuals, this is the result of denial, delay, scare campaigns,
misinformation and disinformation by the fossil fuel lobby and its enablers
over decades, and the inability of nearly every government to put in place
policies that could overcome that deliberate inertia.
As the Climate Change Authority underlines in its own report, the technologies
exist to meet an economy-wide 62–70 per cent goal. This is well known. It’s
just a crying shame – more than that really given the potential impacts on
young and future generations – that they have not been deployed faster. Because
they very easily could have.
And it’s frustrating to see how the CCA went out and explored a target of 65-75
per cent, and then had to reign it back in – hopefully not for political
purposes.
Credit, though, where it’s due – Australia does now have what could be argued
is a “respectable” target, which is more than it would have had with a
conservative government, the architect of so much delay with its cancelling of
the carbon price, its relentless attacks on renewables and EVs, and its
continued questioning of the science and demonising of new tech."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
