Antinuclear

Mr Abbott’s dismissal of climate science … speaks to a distorted vision of what it means to be a Conservative.

Richard Benyon, Tory MP

Richard Benyon, a former environment minister under British leader David Cameron, says Mr Abbott’s decision to become the first world leader to abolish a carbon price is “mystifying” and his attack on renewable energy targets “bewildering”, especially for a “supposedly pro-business government”.

In an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Benyon argues that “those who, like Mr Abbott, persist in regarding climate change as a left-wing conspiracy based on speculative science are in a rapidly dwindling minority”.

He says “true Conservative values include distaste for over-regulation and enthusiasm for entrepreneurialism. But they also include a respect for sound science and economics, a belief in protecting the natural world and a responsibility to do the best for the biggest possible number of one’s citizens.”

He adds that “Mr Abbott’s dismissal of climate science and his belief that Australia must choose between economic growth and tackling climate change speak to a distorted vision of what it means to be a Conservative”.

It is one of the most direct attacks yet on the Coalition government’s carbon policies from the right of the political spectrum, and reflects mounting frustration with Canberra in a number of Western capitals……..

Last year, Mr Abbott dismayed UN officials when he declared that climate change was “not the only or even the most important problem that the world faces”, a position in stark contrast to that of UN climate change spokesman Dan Thomas, who called it the ” defining issue of our time”.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/leading-tory-mp-calls-tony-abbotts-climate-change-policies-incomprehensible-20150722-gihsio.html#ixzz3gkuFjgFw