Coaltion's ideological climate science doubts turn to outright denial

Ideological intransigence retains its
 hold over the Turnbull administration.

The far right of the Coalition has maintained enormous ideological discipline to insist – in the face of ever mounting evidence to the contrary – that climate science is a giant hoax.

That climate denial – still evident in most of the conservative rump of the party, even if Barnaby Joyce now wonders if “climate change might be real” after staring at a dry creek bed on his family property – has now seeped through to everyday government.

Two events this week highlight how this ideological intransigence retains its hold over the Turnbull administration.

The first came earlier this week when environment minister Greg Hunt was forced to deny the idea that Direct Action – once dismissed as a “fig leaf” for climate action by his boss, Malcolm Turnbull – would evolve into a type of emissions trading scheme.

The second event came when it was revealed by The Guardian that Hunt’s environment department had managed to have removed any mention of Australia in a UNESCO report on the environmental impacts of climate change and world heritage sites.

Read Giles Parkinson’s story on RewewEconomy  - “Coalition’s great big climate hoax turns to outright denial.”

Turnbull forced to 'duck and weave' his way through first day in Paris

A

s 150 country leaders spoke in Paris on Monday, mostly reinforcing their commitment to a global agreement that aims to limit global warming to a maximum 2°C, Australia prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was forced to duck and weave his way through the first day of talks.

Giles Parkinson - PM was ducking
and weaving through the day.

The country leaders were invited to Paris to try to remove roadblocks and inspire others to act. Most – including the leaders of the US, China, Mexico,  host France and other EU countries, developing nations, and even Russia – did exactly that.

But the day started badly for Australia with the revelation that it had snubbed – apparently, at the last minute and under pressure from the conservative rump of the Coalition government – an invitation to join a 40-country campaign to remove fossil fuel subsidies.

Australia was also conspicuously absent when many of the world’s major economies held a special event to underline their support for a carbon price. Australia, of course, was the first country in the world to remove a carbon price when Tony Abbott was in power.

Read Giles Parkinson’s story on RenewEconomy - “Paris, COP21: Turnbull ducks and weaves as world leaders lead.”