‘Too emotional, too hot': World's top energy chief laments Australia's climate debate.

Paris: The powerful head of the International Energy Agency has branded Australia's climate and energy debate among the worst in the world, while warning developed countries are "not even close" to achieving the emissions reduction needed to combat global warming.

International Energy Agency executive
 director Dr Fatih Birol.

Fatih Birol also lamented the collapse of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) during last year's Liberal Party leadership showdown, expressed "pity" that Australia has missed opportunities to mitigate the impact of coal, and backed MPs exploring the feasibility of small-scale nuclear power plants.

"I find the Australian energy debate far too emotional, far too nervous and far too hot. It is hotter than the climate change itself," Dr Birol, the IEA's executive director, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Bevan Shields - “‘Too emotional, too hot': World's top energy chief laments Australia's climate debate.”