'We are about to choose to fail' - Kevin Anderson

“We are somewhere between denial and delusion,” according to climate scientist Kevin Anderson.

Professor Kevin Anderson.

The professor of Climate and Energy at the University of Manchester talks here in a Beyond One Degree interview with Martin Helberg about the widespread illusion that we can mitigate climate change within business as usual, small steps and some future technology. 

He concludes that we have the scientific knowledge and technical solutions to move to renewable energy, but we lack the political, economical and cultural will to implement the systems at scale.

He is endorses the research of so called ”negative emissions” and geo engineering, but does not want us become dependent upon them.

He works on climate questions because we still have a possibility to avoid catastrophe, but he thinks we are about to choose to fail. 

”Let’s not pretend it is not a choice,”he says.

The conversation that took place in Stockholm, February 20, this year can be heard here.

Jotzo wonders about Turnbull's appetite for the climate challenge

Director of the Centre for Climate
Economics and Policy at the
Australian National University,
Frank Jotzo, wonders whether or not the
 re-elected Malcolm Turnbull has the
appetite to tackle climate change. 

The re-elected Coalition government has the opportunity to revamp its policies on climate change. Transition of the energy sector is key if the 2030 emissions target is to be met. But with a razor-thin majority in Parliament, will Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have the appetite and internal authority to tackle the challenge?

In contrast to the past three federal elections, climate change policy was not one of the big issues in this campaign. Faced with a fairly comprehensive climate policy blueprint from the Labor Party, the Coalition opted not to say much on the subject. A carbon tax and emissions trading scheme have been ruled out, but the door for climate and energy policy reform has not been slammed shut.

In fact, there has been a clear sense that the government accepts that there needs to be a more comprehensive policy framework than just the subsidy-based Emissions Reductions Fund, with its inherent problems. In 2015, Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced that there will be a climate change policy review during 2017

Read the piece on The Conversation by the Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at the Australian National University, Frank Jotzo - “Can Malcolm Turnbull do climate and energy policy now?”