Labor look to take the lead on climate change, but is it just rhetoric?

B

ill Shorten will take significantly steeper emissions cuts to the 2016 election than the Turnbull Government, ensuring climate change policy will once again be a key battleground issue for voters.

Labor leader Bill Shorten - lots of
puff, but do his ideas cut it.

In a bold move after Labor lost the 2013 election on the unpopularity of its politically toxic carbon tax, Mr Shorten is proposing a 45 per cent reduction in total CO2 emissions within 15 years, despite significant economic and population growth over that time.

Read Mark Kenny’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Labor to beef up climate fight with commitment to steeper emissions cuts.”

(This sounds wonderful, but until the “how” specifics are spelt out it is little more than rhetoric loaded with motherhood statements such as “diversifying and de-coupling our economy, separating emissions growth from economic growth” and then things like "Changing technology, modernising fuels and embracing clean energy does not mean trading away our prosperity. In fact, it means the opposite."

Yes, it all sounds wonderful and therein lies the problem, “it all sounds wonderful”, but climate change will not be slowed by words, it needs action; action that will not only reduce our carbon dioxide emissions, but then reverse what is happening and the first step needs to be a reappraisal of the developed world’s economy and with that a shift of hitherto unseen proportions in human behaviour.

Climate change has sadly become politicized and we face decidedly difficult times until we can release and free it from that polarized conversation – Robert McLean).