Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday warned that next year’s landmark climate change summit in Paris will fail if world leaders decide to put cutting carbon emissions ahead of economic growth. “It’s vital that the Paris conference be a success… and for it to be a success, we can’t pursue environmental improvements at the expense of economic progress,” Abbott said. “We can’t reduce emissions in ways which cost jobs because it will fail if that’s what we end up trying to do.” --Jane Aardell,
Reuters, 19 November 2014
Plans for the government to donate (sic) hundreds of millions of pounds to a new Green Climate Fund could lead voters away from the Tories in an upcoming by-election. Senior Tories fear that the contribution has jeopardised the party’s chances of obtaining votes from potential UKIP supporters – skeptical of climate change claims and opposed to foreign aid. David Cameron has done little to address these fears, by refusing to disclose the precise amount that Britain plans to donate to the fund, although he stressed that the money would come from existing funds. --Nick Reilly,
Metro News, 17 November 2014
We are also told that Paris is the moment when the world will come together to save us from an excess of greenhouse gas emissions. Any “deal” at Paris will merely give China and India a free rein until the 2030s without any binding obligation to be monitored and scrutinised by the west on their actual behaviour. That is why Abbott is wise to make any Australian climate policies conditional on a legally binding, verifiable, enforceable and genuinely global agreement to replace the Kyoto protocol. It’s a fair bet Abbott’s position will be vindicated at the United Nations climate talks next year. --Tom Switzer,
The Guardian, 18 November 2014
What is shaping up now, as Benny Peiser of the London-based Global Warming Policy Forum predicts, is a huge blame game over the likely failure to agree to a post-Kyoto treaty. China and India will blame the west for its failure to deliver $100 bn per annum – yes, $100bn – that was promised at Copenhagen. Obama and the left will blame the Republicans. The EU will blame the Americans. Climate enthusiasts and developing nations will blame all and sundry. And Abbott will look like a genius for keeping Australia on the margins of yet another climate summit fiasco. --Tom Switzer,
The Guardian, 18 November 2014
David Cameron is to hand at least £650 million to help undeveloped countries cope with climate change on the day the Conservatives will fight a crucial by-election battle with Ukip. The prime minister had hoped to avoid attention being drawn to the UK’s contribution to the Green Climate Fund until after the Rochester & Strood by-election, according to government insiders. The timing is deeply awkward for Mr Cameron, highlighting controversial commitments to both foreign aid and green measures, with Ukip set for another coup in winning its second parliamentary seat. --Francis Elliott and Michael Savage,
The Times, 17 November 2014
International climate finance for decarbonisation is a detrimental use of aid money. The international community should be encouraging the development of the cheapest forms of electricity generation that offer populations in the developing world the best chances of escaping poverty. It is irresponsible to be actively promoting expensive alternatives that have already led to increasing fuel poverty in the UK and the EU. We are also concerned about western green investors profiteering from the Green Climate Fund; something that Governments around the world should ensure does not happen. –Benny Peiser,
Global Warming Policy Forum, 19 November 2014
The Queensland government, as host of last weekend’s G20 summit, is incensed over what it sees as an ill-informed, insulting speech from Barack Obama about climate change, the Great Barrier Reef and coal. Senior Queensland government MPs are so angry at Mr Obama’s remarks about the Great Barrier Reef and his attack on coal production in a resources state that they are considering a formal complaint. However, it is unlikely this will happen as informal messages were sent to the US delegation, declaring the President’s speech was not in keeping with that of a guest and ally. --Dennis Shanahan, The Australian[Subscription required], 19 November 2014
