Saudi Arabia acts while Australia sits on its hands

As the Saudis act urgently to escape
the grip of fossil fuel addiction, what
is Malcolm Turnbull's "agile and
 innovative" Australia doing?

The most carbon-dependent nation on earth, Saudi Arabia, this week announced a plan for a post-oil economy. "We have an addiction to oil," said the kingdom's de facto ruler, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "This is dangerous. It has delayed development of other sectors."

The superpower of the oil world has decided that the most prized commodity of the 20th century is a big risk in the 21st. It's attempting a decisive break under a plan called Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia is not an admirable country and it's not any kind of model for Australia.

But in demonstrating the risks of fossil fuel addiction, it is more than the proverbial canary in the proverbial coal mine. It is the coal mine, and the coal mine is acknowledging openly that it's in terminal decline.

Note that this has nothing to do with saving the planet from climate change. For the Saudis, it's strictly a matter of economics.

As the Saudis act urgently to escape the grip of fossil fuel addiction, what is Malcolm Turnbull's "agile and innovative" Australia doing?

Read the Sydney Morning Herald story by Peter Hartcher story - “New Malcolm Turnbull plays Tony Abbott's old election game of scares and slogan.”