The frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions reflects not only the objective effects of global warming, but also the enormous negative consequences caused by the political myopia of Australian decision-makers. No wonder then that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was not invited to speak at the Climate Ambition Summit on Sunday. According to the “Guardian”, seats at the summit are reserved for top politicians in those countries that set emission reduction targets for the next decade, declare zero emissions, provide funds for developing countries or formulate “ambitious” plans and strategies.
Five years ago at the Paris Climate Conference, Australia promised a reduction in its carbon emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2030. However, forecasts made at the end of last year assume that Australia’s carbon emissions will only be 16 percent below the level by 2030 from 2005 will be.
The catastrophic forest fire alone, which broke out in September 2019 and lasted more than four months, resulted in the death or loss of the habitat of nearly 3 billion animals. As the fire was spreading last December, Morrison went on vacation to Hawaii. He claimed that “Australia is only responsible for 1.3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.” The fact is, however, that Australia’s population only accounts for about 0.3 percent of the world’s population, making the country one of the world’s highest per capita Has greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia’s record for climate change is clearly negative, the country was once the only industrialized country besides the United States to refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Under the influence of interest groups from the mining sector, several Australian governments rejected the statutory anchoring of the emission reduction targets promised at the Paris climate conference. In addition, Australia is the last remaining industrialized country that has still not enacted fuel efficiency standards.
On the eve of the current climate summit, Morrison announced regarding Australia’s emissions reduction commitment: “I am here to answer the Australian people. And our government will serve the Australian people. ”Tackling climate change is a shared responsibility of all humanity and is a fundamental concern of the Australian people. However much he hides it, Morrison cannot hide the fact that his behavior ignores the interests of the Australian people and that he is ready to be the spokesman for individual interest groups.
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