Antinuclear

Australia joins international community in climate action, and credibility for Durban conference

CLIMATE POLICY We’ve Got Climate Cred – Now What? New Matilda, 29 Nov 2011    With clean energy laws passed, Australian reps can speak with credibility about international climate policy. Sophie Trevitt reports on expectations about the UN climate talks in Durban

This month, the Clean Energy Bills passed through the Senate and were enacted into law. Australia took its first step towards preventing dangerous climate change — joining almost 100 other major economies that have implemented accountable policies to reduce carbon pollution.

Now, Australia stands alongside nearly 200 countries in Durban, South Africa, for the United Nations Climate Conference 2011. Australian representatives can for the first time speak with some credibility in this international forum, having implemented a domestic policy that provides a framework for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The International Energy Commission has recently released research which suggests that if our consumption of fossil fuels is not drastically and immediately reduced, we will face runaway climate change within five years. That means more extreme weather events like Cyclone Yasi, bushfires and extreme heat waves for Australia — and it means many of the Pacific Islands will become uninhabitable.

With some progress made in Cancun last year, the question hanging above Durban is how much and how fast substantive progress can be made. Negotiations this year are expected to shift away from the symbolic rhetoric that has characterised previous conferences; and hopes remain high that strong cooperative action will be instigated…..

Australia has good reason to celebrate enacting our first climate laws. The Climate Talks in Durban present an opportunity for Australia to catch up with the rest of the world before it is too late. We’ve taken the first step at home. Now we need to join with the international community and pledge to dramatically cut our emissions by at least 15 per cent; investing in the renewable alternatives available in Australia as one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world. http://newmatilda.com/2011/11/29/weve-got-durban-cred-now-what

November 29, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | climate change - global warming