Weekend Noticeboard

Imagine being the sort of person who gets upset because something that doesn’t matter isn’t happening. Such as, for example, a decline in Australia’s carbon dioxide output.

His coiffure is working hard to correct it, but Greg’s still got that head tilt happening

This noticeboard is brought to you by veteran concerned climateer Greg Jericho, who wishes we could keep blighted Covid-era lunacy rolling on forever:

Three years, no falls in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. We need emissions to fall at the rate they did during the pandemic. Instead nothing is happening.

And annual emissions are just 2.4% below 2005 levels.

Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/L936iDkaQn

— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) February 29, 2024

Because they have absolutely no empirical way of knowing if carbon dioxide levels are up or down, good or bad, the mood of Jericho and his climate comrades is entirely dependent on graphs.

Someone should draw him a happy one, with all downward output trends and smiley faces on it.

UPDATE. Jericho needs to have a word with Teal lady Monique Ryan, who approves all carbon-blasting behaviour right up to and including private jet ownership.

Set her straight, Greg.

UPDATE II. Warmy types previously heckled normal Australians about our per capita emissions:

“Australia is the biggest per capita emitter in the world.” — Fairfax’s Kenneth Davidson in 2008.

“Australia, as the highest per capita emitter in the world …” — Davidson again, in 2011.

“On bases of per capita emissions, there we are proudly right up the top, world champions and not by a little bit.” — Professor Ross Garnaut, the former climate change adviser for the Australian government, in the 2011 update to his Climate Change Review.

Jericho was one of those per-capita screamers:

“On a per capita basis, however, we zoom to the top …” — ABC online commentator Greg Jericho, 2014.

Not only was that claim never true, Jericho four years later denounced per capita calculations when they could no longer be twisted to shame Australia:

It says nothing about the impact on the environment. The atmosphere doesn’t react on a per capita basis, it reacts to the total level of CO2 emissions.

Jericho further insisted:

Reducing emissions per capita (or per GDP) has never been the issue.

Well, OK then. So why did Rod Campbell – research director at the lefty Australia Institute, where Greg Jericho is chief economist – last year run this line about the NT:

The Northern Territory is the world leader for per-capita emissions …

Australia’s Northern Territory has a small population (250,100) but it emitted 15.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas in 2021. While this is only 3% of Australia’s emissions, it equates to 63.3 tonnes per person, easily the highest in Australia.

In fact, if the NT was a country it would be the highest per capita polluter in the world …

Hmm. According to the Australia Institute’s Rod Campbell, per capita emissions obviously remain sinful.

But according to the Australia Institute’s Greg Jericho, per capita emissions "were never the issue" and say “nothing about the impact on the environment” because “the atmosphere doesn’t react on a per capita basis”.

Cage match. Loser quits and becomes a fashion consultant for the Teals. No travel allowance.