Climate change warrants top billing at G20 Forum

-      Robert McLean

A few weeks ago I wrote a potential newspaper column about the importance of climate change being on the G20 agenda, but sensing a decided reluctance from my editor about further columns mentioning the climate dilemma, it has simply languished among unused and unpublished items.

Labor Leader, Bill Shorten - he
believes climate change
should be discussed at the G20.

 

Seeing this piece (link follows) from Michelle Grattan discussing the similar idea being suggested by Labor Leader, Bill Shorten encourages me to submit it.

This is what I wrote recently:

 

Climate change should be the first order of business at the November G20 forum in Brisbane.

Consideration of climate change would allow those at the forum to make informed and reasoned judgements about economic cooperation and decision making.

Any decisions made without first recognising and allowing for the differences climate change will bring to our market-driven society are irresponsible.

Economic growth, as understood by most, is entirely dependent upon a benign climate and the uninhibited access to the earth’s finite resources; resources that have taken billions of years to accumulate.

That ageless resource is now so depleted and subsequently becoming so scarce and expensive that to enhance a process depending on unlimited “everything” is not only reckless, but maybe even a crime against humanity.

Strong words: words that elicit thoughts of the Yeats poem, “The Second Coming” in which he writes: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”.

The equations that will drive our ultimate demise are not complicated and to understand and accept them requires little more than primary school mathematics and nothing of the arcane, convoluted and bizarre intellectual trickery the will prevail at Brisbane in November.

Our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, one who stands among those who deny global warming, has already declared that climate change will not be allowed to interfere with the “important” talks at the Brisbane forum.

Taken from its own website, the G20 says:

“Strengthening growth and creating jobs is our top priority and we are fully committed to taking decisive actions to return to a job-rich, strong, sustainable and balanced growth path. … We will identify the remaining key obstacles to be addressed and reforms needed to achieve stronger, more sustainable and balanced growth in our economies”.

These obviously highly-intelligent people appear to be locked into fantasy-fuelled beliefs that technology will rescue humanity from this collision of economic chaos, resource depletion, over-population, governance disorder and seemingly endless military confrontation.

Meeting last year in St Petersburg, the G20 leaders said their immediate task was to break the cycle of low growth and diminished business and consumer confidence.

The G20 argues it is well placed to do this in Brisbane this year.

Should they be serious about global economic security then they must first consider the impact of climate change; restructure the global economy to ensure financial equality for all, end the hugely disparate earnings around the world; truly understand what “sustainable” means; ensure gender equality; invest heavily in building resilience in communities; and educate and help people understand how they can grow and provide much of their own food.

Organic growth, and resilience, will sprout from communities of a type sadly unlikely to be considered at Brisbane in November.

Quoting Yeats again: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”.

And now Michelle Grattan has written on The Conversation about Labor leader, Bill Shorten arguing for the same thing,

Her story is headed: “Shorten urges climate issues be a priority at G20”.