Australia should stick to its Paris targets just like France, Germany and Canada
Stick to Paris. Nicole Hasham, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 31:
The Coalition’s internal climate war risks damaging the economy after Europe declared it would reject a $15 billion trade deal with Australia unless the Morrison government keeps its pledge to cut pollution under the Paris accord.
Or else. Ben Potter, The Australian Financial Review, August 31:
Kane Thornton, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, said Australia would face scrutiny at the COP24 (24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) … meeting in Poland in December if … (Australia had) no concrete policies for achieving … Paris carbon emissions reduction targets.
Simon Lack, August 23:
Only five EU members are even halfway on track to meeting their obligations under the Paris accord.
Follow the German example. Nathan Witkop, Montel News, August 31:
Germany is on track to fall well short of its goal of cutting its own emissions by 40 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020.
And the French? James McAuley, The Washington Post, August 28:
French President Emmanuel Macron’s reputation as a leading climate change activist suffered a blow Tuesday with the abrupt resignation of his environment minister. Nicolas Hulot …(quit because of) the French government’s lax approach to … climate change … Macron pledged to “Make Our Planet Great Again” … (but) Hulot … (said) there was little substance behind these grandiose declarations. … Have we started to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? The answer is no.”
And fudge like Canada. David Tindall, The Conversation, August 31:
Canada is on track to miss its commitments under the Paris climate agreement — and that’s after Ottawa fudged the targets by changing the baseline … from 1990 … to 2005.
What is its plan worth? Katie Dangerfield, Global News, August 31:
(The Canadian province of Alberta) Alberta dropped out of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate change plan Thursday … Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said … “let’s be clear, without Alberta, that plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”.
Jeremy Corbyn offers British Jews a lesson in irony. Jake Wallis Simons, Daily Mail, August 24:
Jeremy Corbyn … (said “Zionists) clearly have two problems. One is they don’t want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English irony either … They needed two lessons, which we could perhaps help them with.” … The Labour leader made the comments at a conference … advertised … by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades … (a) designated … terrorist group … (in) Britain … In one of the speeches … Alan Hart (who believes Mossad was behind the 9/11 attacks described) “Zionism … as a “cancer at the heart of international affairs” … a “monster” and compared it to Nazi Germany.
Letter by Jonathan Lynn to The Times, September 1:
Sir, I am Jewish. Although I wrote Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, Corbyn says I don’t under English irony. My co-writer Tony Jay was only half-Jewish, so perhaps he half understood irony and was able to supply some. The Labour Party continues to deny that Corbyn is an anti-Semite but as Sir Humphrey said: “Never believe anything until it’s been officially denied” … Corbyn’s speech, ironically, reveals what seems hidden to him.