As all Australians* wait with baited (if not entirely optimistic) breath for Kev’s ETS announcement today, we take a look at what the Aussie blogosphere are carrying on about:
Rudd portrays himself as “sensible centrist”. As well as using straw-man style arguments to attack critics, the Prime Minister is arguing that his target will be appropriate because he will be criticised from both sides. This does not make sense — whether Australia’s targets are appropriate depends on the science, on whether they are equitable, on whether they are achievable, and whether they will increase the likelihood of a comprehensive international agreement that will mitigate climate change. — Climate Dilemma
Will Kevin Rudd be a coal eating surrender monkey? The Rudd Labor government is set to releases its much awaited target for greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2020. What will will it be? We have some some clues. — Peter Campbell
A tough day for Kevin. Whatever numbers the Prime Minister and his environmental spin doctors come up with will be wrong. If he comes up with a strong target then industry will be up in arms saying that we’ll all be ruined and threatening to take their business off-shore. If he comes up with a weak target then the Greens and everyone else who believes that we can single-handedly save the planet will start firing big nasty shots. – Mark Parton
Green groups get hysterical. Climate Change is so dangerous that we should not be constrained by the laws of physics. I think we can achieve CO2 emission reductions of 110%. Yessir. The way this would work is, Australians would evolve into CO2-breathing mammals. Thus we would suck out even more nasty CO2 from the atmosphere just by walking around. — A Politician and a Bucket of Money
Prepare to be unimpressed. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme White Paper will be released tomorrow, and the cynicism is palpable. — Not a Hedgehog
Time to consider alternatives. Perhaps now is the time to move away from the idea that the solution to “fighting climate change” lies with a cap on emissions – an idea that has been pushed so hard by the United Nations. Perhaps now is the time to consider alternatives? — Jennifer Marohasy
* That is what all Australians are doing today, right?
