Antinuclear

Abbott govt’s Energy White Paper is highly political, as is its stand on Renewable Energy Target

Energy white paper has some huge black holes, SMH 12 Apr 15  Was it an accident or wilful blindness? The federal government’s 74-page energy white paper, released last week, contained just a single reference to climate change. Given the Abbott government’s self-imposed blindness on this issue, we have to suspect it was the latter. The omission renders the document deeply flawed.

The white paper’s approach is that of the classic free-marketeer: governments should not intervene to modify energy consumers’ behaviour (by, say, subsidising renewables or reserving gas supplies for domestic use at a lower cost to consumers). Applied to other industries that analysis may still sketch the outlines of a workable policy, but it is no longer adequate in a supposedly comprehensive review of energy production and use. The burning of fossil fuels is the world’s single most important contributor to greenhouse gases and therefore to climate change. Yet the white paper virtually ignores this link which is central to its subject…….

Despite its dispassionate pretence, Australia’s white paper is a highly political document. Economics rules Australia’s politics, and hence our political response to climate change has also been achingly slow. Cocooned by the country’s income from hydrocarbons in a world of comfortable fantasy, many in this country deeply still resent any disturbance from scientists or others who try to point out the stark evidence of record average temperatures, changed farming environments, warmer oceans, longer and harsher bushfire seasons……..

There is no risk now that Australia will lead the world in acting against climate change, since most developed nations are already ahead of us, and our recent steps have all been retrograde. But Australia should not be cutting off any options to act when at last it makes up its mind to do so. Unfortunately the white paper, and the row over the RET, look to have precisely that effect. http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/energy-white-paper-has-some-huge-black-holes-20150412-1mjflr.html

April 13, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics