When President Obama dumped his emissions trading policy after the trouncing of the Democrats in the recent US mid-term elections, he received cheers from his carbon-rich polluting allies here in Australia. The Julia Gillard Labor government, not to be outdone by Tony Abbot’s “direct action” nonsense, has promised much and delivered nothing.
The mining and energy magnates are emboldened by the commitment of both Labor and the opposition to preserve the status quo. In the November 6 Australian, applauding Obama’s policy shift, business chief and Reserve Bank board member Dick Warburton urged: “We should follow Obama and look to ways to clean the air of particulate pollution and make better use of resources, including gas and nuclear”. He added, in a fit of delusion or ignorance: “solar and wind have a place but they are a long way from being economically effective”.
Do any of the major parties comprehend the comments made to the cross party climate committee by Professor Will Steffen of the Australian National University? In early November he informed committee members that with “about 95% certainty … human emissions of greenhouse gases are the main cause of the global warming observed over the last half century” and that “the scientific basis and imperative for rapid and vigorous action to reduce emissions is overwhelming”.
Of course, both the US and Australia are the world per capita greenhouse gas producing flunkies. They share a common strategic aim of delaying any fundamental change to halt a slide towards catastrophic climate change. They have no real solutions – only pretending that tinkering around the edges is a solution. In defending their slice of the world capitalist pie, they are world leaders in deepening the capitalist-induced climate crisis.
The latest Australia-US ministerial meeting confirmed the ongoing integration of their military forces, including shared military actions, occupations and wars in the region. The resource wars that the US and Australia wage (under the cover of fighting “terrorism”), enforce theft from occupied countries and threaten others. From occupied Iraq or harassed Venezuela, unsustainable oil, coal and other fossil fuels drive the unsustainable capitalist system. It has to stop!
To force a change will require mass united action. We have to campaign to end the extraction and production of these destructive fuels. A sustainable and ecologically viable human-friendly world is not possible under this deadly and failing system. Direct Action seeks to promote a movement for change based on socialism in order to bring such a world a step closer. Please help us keep the paper in production by making a donation to the Direct Action fund appeal. So far we have raised $20,257 for the 2010 fund appeal thanks to the generosity of readers like you. You can send a cheque or money order to Direct Action, Suite 72, 65 Myrtle Street, Chippendale NSW 2008.