Let them eat my gasses

A few weeks ago the ruling Australian Liberal Party dealt themselves into the upcoming green elections by outsourcing our environmental policy to Indonesia: :::[The Road to Surfdom]

So, Malcolm Turnbull and his boss, The Rodent*, have suddenly come out with this policy to pay $A200m to encourage developing nations in the southern hemisphere with significant rainforest, such as Brazil, Australia and Indonesia, to stop logging them.

An audible gasp went around the country. After ten years of aggressive denial, these people are now really serious about combating climate change, even if they won't protect our own significant rainforests.

Today, at the annual Council of Australian Governments meeting we found out just how serious: :::[SMH]

The rift over how to tackle climate change widened today with Prime Minister John Howard refusing to back a plan by state premiers to set up a national carbon emission trading scheme.

At the end of their annual Council of Australian Governments meeting, Mr Howard told a news conference he would "put jobs and economic opportunity ahead of targets" on greenhouse gas reductions.

The states and territories want emissions trading operational in 2010 and backed up by legislation in 2008. They want Australia's emissions cut by 60 per cent by 2050.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, who has been leading the state's reform campaign, voiced his disappointment.

The premiers of every single state and territory of the Commonwealth of Australia at last want to work together with the Federal Government to do something about the challenge of the aeon, and Howard says 'no', offering his typical platitudinous, vapid crap as the reason. Poor guy just does not get that the economy is but a sub-system of the environment. Poor guy just does not want a job after November.

UPDATE

John Howard has not lost all the wiles. He dealt himself back into the game at the last moment: :::[SMH]

John Howard softens his trenchant opposition to a greenhouse gas emissions trading and target reduction scheme.

He did the right thing, if the Internet poll by the SMH is anything to go by:

Reader Poll

Climate Change
Who is right about Climate Change?
The states who want a carbon trading scheme and targets - 73% The Prime Minister who won't put targets ahead of jobs and the economy - 16% Neither side - 11% Total Votes: 3451

* Note for non-Aussie readers. One of John Howard's own Liberal Party senators once referred to him as "the Lying Rodent", and, bizarrely enough, it stuck.

Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science CO2 Carbon Sink Earth Australia Kyoto Energy