Environmental pollution[/caption]Andreea Sterea----Australia’s climate change policy was one of the many "hot potatoes" in the run-up to this fall’s federal elections. Many pundits and members of the general audience rushed to express their views, many of which centered around the future of the carbon tax, as well as several environmental incentives (among which the solar panel rebate). And the consequences reflect the seriousness of the climate change debates.
For a while, in the wake of the electoral poll result announcements in Australia, it looked like such debates would remain unsettled for a while. However, a recent statement, made in mid-September by representatives of the Abbott government, seems to tip the balance in the direction of a major change for Australia’s climate change strategy.
Global warming information commission shut down
On September 19, Greg Hunt, the incoming Environment Minister, announced that the Climate Commission would be suspended, effective immediately. The former chief of the authority, commissioner Tim Flannery, received the news via a phone call from Hunt himself, at 10 a.m.. The move is in keeping with announcements made by the National-Liberal Coalition prior to this year’s election. Aside from closing down the Climate Commission, the incoming ruling part also stated it would shut down several other institutions that activate for the environmental cause, while also doing away with Labor’s planned carbon pricing mechanism.
According to Tim Flannery’s statements, the announcement he received from Greg Hunt was made in courteous terms and the former commissioner also received thanks for his activity at the head of the dissolved institution. However, he was not provided any formal reasons for which the institution was shut down and, as of the time this article was written, was expecting an official letter on this matter from the government. The commission’s main responsibility was to inform the general public of Australia’s climate change strategy, as well as on matters related to global warming and its effects. Flannery also expressed the view that Australians have the right to learn “authoritative, independent and accurate information on climate change”.
Do Australians care about global warming?
Unfortunately, there is no non-political answer to the above question. Members of the former Climate Commission say they steered clear of politics and were sincere in their efforts to provide trustworthy information on a controversial topic. According to Flannery, the commission held dozens of meetings on the matter, all around Australia, and published no fewer than 27 public reports focused on global warming and ways of preventing it. Perhaps even more importantly, the decision to abolish the commission, as well as the expected decision to replace the Climate Change Strategy with the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan, come a short time ahead of the release of the UN’s fifth assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This, at a time when the Australian public has been left without an authority to inform them about such issues and their importance.
Meanwhile, the average household and general consumers are strongly veering toward a greener lifestyle, according to recent reports on consumer trends. Many are opting for fixed rotary clotheslines – a green alternative to grid powered tumble dryers, which produce no carbon dioxide emissions and use up no electric energy. Others are applying for the government rebate for photovoltaic solar panels; it’s worth noting that the Coalition has also announced slashing this rebate to half its former amount ($500, down from $1,000) citing the currently lower costs of this power alternative. Australia currently boasts four carbon neutral cities (among which Melbourne and Sydney), but many are wondering if such achievements will still be possible under the rule of the Coalition. Time alone will tell, yet criticism of the Direct Action plan is bound to make itself heard in the coming months.
In the meantime, at the government level, the issues concerning climate change continue to bring debate across the political spectrum, even as regulatory agencies struggle to survive in the arena of controversy it brings, to Australia and other countries as people weigh the needs for energy against environment issue..
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Andreea Sterea is a free-lance writer and talent manager who seeks to bring readers information and interesting ideas about the environment, lifestyle, movies, music, entertainment industry and fashion.
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