Optimistic climate change pronouncements irrelevant

Optimistic climate change pronouncements now seem irrelevant in Australia.

U.N. Environment programme
 head, Achim Steiner.

Australia’s former Labor Government at least had some sympathy for the dilemmas the produced a changing climate and has taken some steps to mitigate those matters.

Saturday’s election of the Tony Abbott led Coalition has reversed all that.

Abbott, who is on the record as describing climate change “as crap”, will, among others things, eliminate the carbon tax and scrap the Climate Commission, which is headed by Tim Flannery.

Contrary to the stance taken by Abbott and his Coalition compatriots, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, has said “Climate change is not taking us by surprise any longer”.

In acknowledging the Coalition’s success on Saturday, Abbott said: “Australia is under new management.

“Australia,” he added “open for business”.

It seems, accepting that the Abbott led Coalition is little more than a gang of climate deniers then climate change certainly will take Australia by surprise.

A blatant interest in the economy, a position that puts profit and growth ahead of people, produced Saturday’s outcome and it is that which was highlighted in the Melbourne Age on election-day in a story headed: “Economic woes seen muting impact on climate woes”.

Reflecting what happened throughout Australia on Saturday, the story reports that many governments are more focused on nursing weak economies than on fixing the planet.

It seems that in the minds of most it is just that: the economy is our first priority and maintaining the planet in a condition in which it is habitable for humans doesn’t seem to matter.