Extinction Rebellion protesters light fire outside Parliament House
Protesters have capped off a wild day in Canberra by lighting a fire outside Parliament House as Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded to a climate change report.
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Technology, not taxes, is the way to cut carbon emissions says Prime Minister Scott Morrison, responding to the latest IPCC report claiming time is running out for the world to avoid the consequences of climate change.
And, the PM warned, no matter what Australia did to cut its emissions, it would not make a bit of difference to the climate if the developing world, including China, did not act likewise.
“The IPCC report … affirms the serious challenge we face here in Australia,” Mr Morrison said on Tuesday.
“But we cannot ignore the fact that the developing world accounts for two-thirds of global emissions and those emissions are rising.
“That is a stark fact.
It is also a clear fact that China’s emissions account for more than the OECD combined. “We need the technological changes that will transform the global energy economy of the world,” the Prime Minister said. “This must happen in these other countries and they must have prosperity, otherwise we will not fix this. That is the Australian way.’’
Mr Morrison’s comments came just hours after environmental protesters were caught vandalising Parliament House in Canberra.
Activists burned a pram and sprayed the words “Duty of” on the pillars at the entrance of the building but were stopped by police and security before they could add the word “care”.
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said if the protesters were truly concerned with the environment, they would protest outside the Chinese embassy instead, given that country’s environmental record.
“These activists don’t want to change the Australian climate, they want to change the Australian government. If they were concerned about the climate they would be protesting at the Chinese Communist Party embassy, who are the biggest emitters in the world,” he said.
“I reckon though these insurrectionists kind of like communism and wouldn’t want to protest against that.”
China remains the world’s largest emitter pumping out almost 30 per cent of the world’s man-made CO2 emissions annually.
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Originally published as Extinction Rebellion protesters light fire outside Parliament House
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