Staying afloat or going (down) under

So Australia has officially repealed its carbon tax. It is the first country to do so and the move has received global criticism, especially since Australia is a significant CO2 emitter.

The response is encapsulated by John Connor, CEO of the Climate Institute:

“The result of repeal today is that Australia is bereft of credible climate policy just as the international community focuses on deeper reduction targets for 2025 and 2030, and even the heads of organisations like the International Monetary Fund, OECD and World Bank talk of the need to completely decarbonise the global economy by the second half of this century.”

“The last seven years have been a sorry and sordid tale of greed, incompetence and rotten luck, which has reduced Australian policy making to scaremongering, self-interest and reckless short termism.”

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott describes the carbon tax repeal: "a useless destructive tax, which damaged jobs, which hurt families cost of living, and which didn't actually help the environment is finally gone."  

It seems painfully clear that Tony Abbott needs to be introduced to the Polluter Pays Principle, i.e. that the polluter should bear the cost of the pollution that they create.

At some stage down the line someone will have to face the consequences of Australia's carbon emissions; it is naive, irresponsible and short-sighted of Australia to think that this can be avoided. It is further nonsensical to believe that companies which profit from this pollution should not be held accountable for it. If paying for the pollution that they create represents too great a financial burden, it perhaps tells us something about the viability of that industry. Instead of bailing out these industries it would better for the Australian Prime Minister to think bigger, to be progressive and innovative in policy making, to build an economy that looks towards a sustainable and secure future. Not only are such policies possible but they will become commonplace as energy security and environmental security threaten economic growth.

A report released by the World Bank last month, "Climate-Smart Development: Adding Up the Benefits of Actions that Help Build Prosperity, End Poverty and Combat Climate Change", shows that "government actions can boost economic performance and benefit lives, jobs, crops, energy, and GDP – as well as emissions reductions to combat climate change." This refutes the idea that sound environmental policies represent an economic burden. 

Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group Vice President & Special Envoy for Climate Change, describes the report:

"This study makes the case for actions that save lives, create jobs, grow economies and, at the same time, slow the rate of climate change. We place ourselves and our children at peril if we ignore these opportunities."  

It is the responsibility of the Australian people to demand more of their politicians, to demand fair and sustainable policies that will work for the Australian people of this generation and generations to come. At the very least demand a politician who isn't a global embarrassment.