Go Greener
What is happening in the media on climate change?
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull wrote an article about Australia’s response to climate change in The Guardian to tie in with the upcoming Climate Summit organised by President Biden. Two of our Maailma students have reflected on this article and have assessed the role of these two Prime Ministers in Australia’s climate challenge over the years.
On Wednesday 21 April, Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd, two former Australian Prime Ministers, published a jointly written article on The Guardian, titled, “Australia’s ambition on climate change is held back by a toxic mix of rightwing politics, media and vested interests.” Released the day before President Jo Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate was due to start, the article criticises the Morrison government, particularly the current Prime Minister, for its stance on climate change, and assertions that fossil fuels are still needed to support Australia’s economy, contrary to the latest economic analyses and scientific predictions. While somewhat biased towards the achievements of their own governments, the two manage to transcend their political affiliations to achieve a common goal.
After establishing the importance of the then-upcoming summit, Rudd and Turnbull lose no time in attacking Australia’s climate commitments. “Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s refusal to adopt both a firm timeline to reach net zero emissions and to increase its own interim 2030 target leaves us effectively isolated in the western world… The reality is Australia’s current target… to reduce emissions by 26 to 28% on 2005 levels by 2030 is now woefully inadequate…” They go on to make the case for Australia’s ability and obligation to reduce our emissions, stating that, “Denial of the reality of global warming and the need to transition to a prosperous clean energy economy is abandoning our responsibilities as much to Australian workers as it is to the world.” Overall, it is an extremely interesting article, full of insightful observations about Australian politics and climate inaction, and well worth a read.
Nicola Allen Year 10
Kevin Rudd was Australian Prime Minister from 2007 – 2010 and again for four months in 2013. He recognised that climate change and the environment were key priorities for the Labor Party and the government. Some of his environmental achievements as Prime Minister included: proposing, together with other senior Labor ministers, an emissions trading scheme to cut emissions 60% by 2050, in 2007; ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, his first official act as Prime Minister; and establishing the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, which aims to accelerate the development of carbon capture technologies. Rudd also committed to action on climate change on several occasions, including the Copenhagen summit of 2009.
Malcolm Turnbull is responsive to the threat of climate change and attempted to make some changes to Australia’s position throughout his political career. When he was a member of the Howard Government, he was Minister for Environment and Water, in 2007. After the election later that year, the Liberal party went into opposition. Under opposition, Turnbull supported legislation such as the Carbon Pollution Reductions scheme. After the 2013 Federal election, the Coalition formed a government and Turnbull was appointed Minister for Communication. In February 2015, Turnbull became leader of the Coalition following a leadership spill. During his Prime Ministership, he started construction of Snowy Hydro 2.0, but followed several energy and environmental policies of the previous Coalition government. As a member of the left faction of the Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull is more progressive than many of his colleagues, but has been heavily criticised for not doing enough for the environment.
Angelica Philips Year 10
