Sunday, June 01, 2014 12:53:28 AM
Heat on Abbott as US pushes G20 climate change action
PUBLISHED: 07 Mar 2014 09:19:00 | UPDATED: 08 Mar 2014 02:53:55
The latest US comments on climate change highlight a potential elephant in the room for Australia as G20 chair
in 2014 and suggest a rare policy divide between Australia and its close US ally. Photo: Andrew Meares
John Kehoe
Key points
* The Coalition is committed to cutting emissions by 5 per cent by 2020.
* Mr Abbott said he didn’t want to ‘clutter’ the G20 agenda with worthy causes.
The United States is pushing for climate change to be an important agenda item when Australia hosts world leaders at the Group of 20 meeting this year, placing Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a potentially awkward position that conflicts with his domestic political agenda.
US President Barack Obama’s G20 emissary, Caroline Atkinson, said “addressing climate change” was an important issue for leaders in addition to Australia’s priorities of promoting stronger economic growth and employment outcomes.
International pressure is mounting on Mr Abbott to take climate change more seriously.
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde last month made a veiled criticism about the government’s retreat on carbon pricing, urging Australia to remain a “pioneer” on climate change policy.
The latest US comments highlight a potential elephant in the room for Australia as G20 chair in 2014 and suggest a rare policy divide between Australia and its close US ally.
“There is [a lot of] high-level focus on the issue of climate and energy efficiency,” Ms Atkinson said at a G20 discussion at a Washington think tank on Wednesday.
“In the G20 – whether it’s Beijing where there are issues of air quality, other countries where there have been extreme weather events or impending water shortages – I think there is a growing understanding of the importance in addressing that.
“The G20 being a political body where leaders can come together is sometimes able to make a breakthrough.”
Abbott’s stance questioned
Mr Abbott has pledged to repeal Labor’s carbon tax. After winning last year’s federal election, he closed down the Department of Climate Change and subsumed its operations into the Department of Environment, to remove “duplication with costly bureaucracies”.
“World leaders are lining up to question Tony Abbott’s climate policy stance. I doubt Joe Hockey even had climate change as an agenda item at the G20 meeting, but each day Tony Abbott is being reminded that his position is taking Australia backwards while the rest of the world is moving forwards,” Labor’s climate spokesman Mark Butler said.
The government remains committed to meeting Australia’s goal of cutting emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, through paying big polluters billions of dollars to reduce their pollution.
However, European countries and Mr Obama are perceived to be more committed to addressing climate change. The US President’s proposed 2015 budget announced this week offered more than $US1 billion ($1.1 billion) in new funding for technologies to help communities prepare for climate change.
Countries such as Germany, led by conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, have privately expressed disappointment in Australia unwinding its carbon price.
Sources in Washington say that when foreign governments and stakeholders have broached climate change in G20 lead-up meetings, Australian government officials have told them the issue is not a priority and suggested that other topics be discussed.
Focus on economic growth
Mr Abbott said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January that the focus of the G20 would be to boost economic growth through freer trade, less regulation, infrastructure investment, better banking regulation and more effective tax systems.
“We do not want to clutter up the G20 agenda with every worthy and important cause because if we do, we will squander the opportunity to make a difference in the vital area of economic growth,” Mr Abbott said.“As leader he can allow it to be discussed, but does not have to be identified with it himself.”
Finance ministers and central bank governors who met in Sydney last month agreed to develop policies with the aim to lift world gross domestic product by more than 2 per cent above the current trajectory over the next five years.
Ms Atkinson, who is also the White House’s national security adviser for international economics, strongly endorsed these agenda items, before adding that climate change was an important issue for world leaders.
She made the comments in a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, alongside Australia’s G20 sherpa, Heather Smith.
Ms Smith did not mention climate change during her presentation and instead stuck to the Australian government’s script.
“The key thing that is on our mind is the concern about the pace of global growth .?.?. and how do we increase growth potential,” Ms Smith said.
Dedicated climate change section
Last year’s G20 leaders’ declaration signed in St Petersburg, Russia, dedicated a section to climate change.
“We underscore our commitment to work together to address climate change and environment protection, which is a global problem that requires a global solution,” the statement said.
Mr Abbott may come under pressure from other countries to mention climate change in the official communique when he hosts world leaders, including Mr Obama, on November 15-16 in Brisbane.
Australia has listed energy as a priority agenda item but has not mentioned climate change on its G20 website, preferring to focus on well-functioning energy markets, reliable supply to households and business and “energy efficiency”.
Colin Bradford, a G20 expert and senior fellow at Washington think tank the Brookings Institution, said Mr Abbott may be able to “fudge” the climate change issue by incorporating it into the energy discussion.
“The most damaging issue for Abbott would be trying to put this issue aside and ignore it,” Mr Bradford said.
2020 emissions budget falls $2.5bn short: Ross Garnaut
http://www.afr.com/p/national/emissions_budget_falls_bn_short_mu3EGFa8BSkYnLlGGcEoNJ
http://www.afr.com/p/national/heat_on_abbott_as_us_pushes_climate_xxma1V2KrZxQjeryKlqzQM
See also:
Wait until this next week when Obama unveils his Climate change new stuff ... OMG!
...... the subject will be changed for at least ...aw hell! .. maybe five days or so?
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=102730477
PUBLISHED: 07 Mar 2014 09:19:00 | UPDATED: 08 Mar 2014 02:53:55
The latest US comments on climate change highlight a potential elephant in the room for Australia as G20 chair
in 2014 and suggest a rare policy divide between Australia and its close US ally. Photo: Andrew Meares
John Kehoe
Key points
* The Coalition is committed to cutting emissions by 5 per cent by 2020.
* Mr Abbott said he didn’t want to ‘clutter’ the G20 agenda with worthy causes.
The United States is pushing for climate change to be an important agenda item when Australia hosts world leaders at the Group of 20 meeting this year, placing Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a potentially awkward position that conflicts with his domestic political agenda.
US President Barack Obama’s G20 emissary, Caroline Atkinson, said “addressing climate change” was an important issue for leaders in addition to Australia’s priorities of promoting stronger economic growth and employment outcomes.
International pressure is mounting on Mr Abbott to take climate change more seriously.
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde last month made a veiled criticism about the government’s retreat on carbon pricing, urging Australia to remain a “pioneer” on climate change policy.
The latest US comments highlight a potential elephant in the room for Australia as G20 chair in 2014 and suggest a rare policy divide between Australia and its close US ally.
“There is [a lot of] high-level focus on the issue of climate and energy efficiency,” Ms Atkinson said at a G20 discussion at a Washington think tank on Wednesday.
“In the G20 – whether it’s Beijing where there are issues of air quality, other countries where there have been extreme weather events or impending water shortages – I think there is a growing understanding of the importance in addressing that.
“The G20 being a political body where leaders can come together is sometimes able to make a breakthrough.”
Abbott’s stance questioned
Mr Abbott has pledged to repeal Labor’s carbon tax. After winning last year’s federal election, he closed down the Department of Climate Change and subsumed its operations into the Department of Environment, to remove “duplication with costly bureaucracies”.
“World leaders are lining up to question Tony Abbott’s climate policy stance. I doubt Joe Hockey even had climate change as an agenda item at the G20 meeting, but each day Tony Abbott is being reminded that his position is taking Australia backwards while the rest of the world is moving forwards,” Labor’s climate spokesman Mark Butler said.
The government remains committed to meeting Australia’s goal of cutting emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, through paying big polluters billions of dollars to reduce their pollution.
However, European countries and Mr Obama are perceived to be more committed to addressing climate change. The US President’s proposed 2015 budget announced this week offered more than $US1 billion ($1.1 billion) in new funding for technologies to help communities prepare for climate change.
Countries such as Germany, led by conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, have privately expressed disappointment in Australia unwinding its carbon price.
Sources in Washington say that when foreign governments and stakeholders have broached climate change in G20 lead-up meetings, Australian government officials have told them the issue is not a priority and suggested that other topics be discussed.
Focus on economic growth
Mr Abbott said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January that the focus of the G20 would be to boost economic growth through freer trade, less regulation, infrastructure investment, better banking regulation and more effective tax systems.
“We do not want to clutter up the G20 agenda with every worthy and important cause because if we do, we will squander the opportunity to make a difference in the vital area of economic growth,” Mr Abbott said.“As leader he can allow it to be discussed, but does not have to be identified with it himself.”
Finance ministers and central bank governors who met in Sydney last month agreed to develop policies with the aim to lift world gross domestic product by more than 2 per cent above the current trajectory over the next five years.
Ms Atkinson, who is also the White House’s national security adviser for international economics, strongly endorsed these agenda items, before adding that climate change was an important issue for world leaders.
She made the comments in a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, alongside Australia’s G20 sherpa, Heather Smith.
Ms Smith did not mention climate change during her presentation and instead stuck to the Australian government’s script.
“The key thing that is on our mind is the concern about the pace of global growth .?.?. and how do we increase growth potential,” Ms Smith said.
Dedicated climate change section
Last year’s G20 leaders’ declaration signed in St Petersburg, Russia, dedicated a section to climate change.
“We underscore our commitment to work together to address climate change and environment protection, which is a global problem that requires a global solution,” the statement said.
Mr Abbott may come under pressure from other countries to mention climate change in the official communique when he hosts world leaders, including Mr Obama, on November 15-16 in Brisbane.
Australia has listed energy as a priority agenda item but has not mentioned climate change on its G20 website, preferring to focus on well-functioning energy markets, reliable supply to households and business and “energy efficiency”.
Colin Bradford, a G20 expert and senior fellow at Washington think tank the Brookings Institution, said Mr Abbott may be able to “fudge” the climate change issue by incorporating it into the energy discussion.
“The most damaging issue for Abbott would be trying to put this issue aside and ignore it,” Mr Bradford said.
2020 emissions budget falls $2.5bn short: Ross Garnaut
http://www.afr.com/p/national/emissions_budget_falls_bn_short_mu3EGFa8BSkYnLlGGcEoNJ
http://www.afr.com/p/national/heat_on_abbott_as_us_pushes_climate_xxma1V2KrZxQjeryKlqzQM
See also:
Wait until this next week when Obama unveils his Climate change new stuff ... OMG!
...... the subject will be changed for at least ...aw hell! .. maybe five days or so?
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=102730477
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
