Celebrating small successes will not give us the needed big result

A friend recently said we should be celebrating the small successes that helped mitigate the difficulties associated with climate change.



Australia goes to the polls on
Saturday, September 7.

That, interestingly, is something with which I have decided empathy, if this was in fact 1980.

September 2013 is now, and no matter how much we wish or hope is not 30 years ago.

The simple subtleties, those small successes that would have been afforded us in 1980 can no longer be celebrated for climate change has settled upon the world at an alarming pace; rather more quickly than even the more pessimistic scientists had predicted.

If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, no longer can we nibble around the edges of our carbon dioxide emissions rather, we have to stop them completely.

Any political party, regardless of philosophies, beliefs or values, has not put forward any sort of proposal that would take humanity anywhere near reaching a position from which we might be placed to avoid the worst of climate change.

With the September 7 Federal Election almost upon we still argue whether our emission cuts should be five per cent or 10 per cent – both are wholly inadequate and unless we are prepared to embark on a war-like footing that would ensure at least 80 per reduction in carbon emissions, then the economy that all earnestly want to protect, then that precious market driven weather and everything with which it is implicated, it doomed.

The Guardian using modelling commissioned by the WWF-Australia writes, in a story headed: “Coalition’s climate policy would cost vastly more than budgeted: study finds”, that funds set aside to meet emission targets would fall short by at least $20bn.