Carbon Trading

I recently rang my electricity company to discuss GreenPower. I knew I wanted 100% GreenPower but I didn’t want it now. I wanted it in January 2010. Right now, I want to do my bit to keep the government’s 2009 GreenPower baseline as low as possible – so my efforts towards emissions reductions really count.

‘Give me the dirtiest coal electricity you have,’ I said to the operator.

I explained that under the government’s proposed emissions trading scheme, me paying extra for GreenPower wouldn’t actually reduce Australia’s carbon emissions – beyond what would happen if I didn’t take any action at all.

Continue reading "Operator, give me the dirtiest electricity you’ve got" »

Everybody wants to save the world in some way. But more often than not the politics of salvation get in the way of achieving this.

That appears to be the curse that has befallen the Federal Government’s attempt to introduce an emissions trading scheme.

While the Government and Opposition engage in a power play over the details of an ETS and their own face-saving attempts, they have left the electorate fumbling to grasp what it will mean for the average punter.

Continue reading "Carbon confusion over political emissions" »

In his first appearance on The Punch, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd blogs on climate change. This piece also appears on his new blog at www.pm.gov.au.

I decided to kick off my blogging career with a focus on climate change. The latest scientific research on climate change confirms our worst fears.  Climate change is happening faster than we previously thought, creating a more serious threat to our economy, our environment and to future generations. 

I recently returned from a meeting of leaders of the world’s major developed and developing countries in Italy, where our discussions focused on our global efforts to tackle climate change.

This meeting - the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy – made some important progress. In particular, it recognised the clear message from climate science that the increase in global average temperature must not exceed 2°C.

Continue reading "Here’s why Fielding should support us on climate" »

Climate change is real. Yes that’s right, contrary to the misreporting in the media,  I do believe in climate change.

That might come as a shock to some of those on the left side of politics, but it’s the truth.

The question that concerns me, however,  is what is driving it? Is it increasing levels of human made carbon dioxide emissions, variations in solar radiation or something else?

Continue reading "The real reason I’ll fight in the Senate on climate change" »