Australia needs an honest reckoning with the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long hold over Australian politics. Without that, we cannot shift to a principled stand against ceaseless expansion.
This election was a perfect storm for the Coalition, with fires, floods and international criticism dialing up the pressure for climate action. In the end, Australia made the decision for them.
Doing as little as possible on climate change was a seemingly safe political strategy until recently. As of Saturday night, it’s a recipe for political disaster.
University experts are well placed to equip students with holistic climate knowledge and help teachers cover a subject that’s neglected by the Australian Curriculum.
Richard Denniss, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Among modern Liberals it’s patently heresy to ask how rushing to green light 11 proposed coal mines in the Hunter Valley helps the struggling coal industry.
Comedian Celeste Barber’s fundraising efforts have gained monumental support. But we need to think of long-term engagement in climate action too.
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Celeste Barber’s $45 million fundraiser is amazing, but battling Australia’s fires should be an ongoing effort. With the help of social media, it can be.
Ten years ago, politicians such as Tony Abbott would routinely voice disdain for climate science. Now, while the policy debate remains fierce, the battleground has shifted to economics and jobs.
In 1990, Bob Hawke and his cabinet looked poised to take climate action. But the following year his prime ministership ended.
NAA
What if Bob Hawke, hailed as a leader who actually ‘got’ environmental issues, had never been rolled by Paul Keating? Perhaps the climate policy wars would have turned out differently.
Environmentalists and climate hawks are cheering, but many experts aren’t excited about the state making rooftop solar panels mandatory on most new homes beginning in 2020.
People will listen more when they like what they’re hearing.
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Facts will only get you so far when it comes to climate change. To get conservatives on side, climate communicators must focus on the values conservatives hold dear, such as preserving the status quo.
The Barossa Valley in 1987 – the year that Australians (winemakers included) received their first formal warning of climate change.
Phillip Capper/Wikimedia Commons
Three decades since the GREENHOUSE 87 conference, credited as kickstarting public awareness of climate change in Australia, how far have we come, and how far do we have left to go in appreciating the risks?
Tony Abbott will deliver a speech to the Global Warming Policy Foundation. Has the human weathervane stopped spinning? What does it mean for climate politics?
Having an antagonistic debate over climate change will not shed any more light on the fundamentals of climate science.
Ivica Drusany/Shutterstock.com
Why assembling two teams to debate climate change is all about political spectacle and sowing doubt – and has nothing to do with actual climate science.