Pacific islands and NZ’s leader should face facts
Perhaps Pacific nations are just as opportunistic and shortsighted as any other nation that allows foreign interests to invest in residential, agricultural, industrial property to the detriment of national interest, and has allowed foreign influence and interference to spread in institutions such as education and politics.
It’s not just Pacific nations that clutch at short-term gain while gambling on being able to avoid any resulting long-term pain.
Australia may be in the process of waking up from such a delusion, but others are embracing it. And it is of great concern that they are our near neighbours.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern should get a grip on reality and realise that there are far more important issues in running a country than carbon dioxide emissions. Try economic development, international trade commitments, defence and regional alliances, aid commitments and regional stability.
Ardern is taking the easy option by putting climate change at the centre of her international agenda. Also, she should have had the maturity to compliment Australia on being one of the few countries likely to meet its 2030 Paris commitments, rather than hinting we need to do more.
Jacinda Ardern and Pacific island leaders should give up their illusion that puny mankind can change the global temperature, stop repeating senseless demands and take a look at some facts.
One simple fact is that the historic data record shows that the annual change in air temperature and sea-surface temperature have always preceded the annual change in atmospheric CO2 concentration. This is because warmer temperatures cause an increase in biological activity and the release of dissolved CO2 from the oceans resulting in the generation of more of the gas. It is impossible for the later CO2 change to be the cause of the earlier temperature change.
The New Zealand PM’s comments critical of Australian policies are a source of disquiet. Her hectoring behaviour and attitudes contrast with the grace shown by past New Zealand PMs and by most New Zealanders towards Australia.
But don’t get mad, get even. Tell her about the damage she is doing to our relationship.
Pacific island leaders are making ridiculous demands of Scott Morrison to close our coal-fired plants when the tiny reduction in CO2 would make no difference to saving their islands or the world’s climate — as has been pointed out by the chief scientist.
If Pacific island leaders are concerned about global warming and the effect it will have on their islands, they should demand that China reduce its footprint. There is no basis for Pacific island leaders to demand that Australia reduce its minor footprint and pay them cash for a non-existent problem.
One can only wonder whether the Pacific Islands Forum compares in value to the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Either it is a brilliant parody, or we are reaching “peak woke” where national leaders are parroting untruths and wagging an accusing finger at Australia for not doing enough to combat climate change.
As Chris Kenny pointed out (“Cries from islands silly and insulting”, 15/8), there are a couple of small problems with accusations against Australia, namely that they are untrue, in that some of the islands are increasing in land area, but also that the proposed solution wouldn’t work.
Even in the event that Australia could depopulate the continent overnight, the rate of increase in global emissions produced by other nations means that in six months the global carbon dioxide levels would be back to where they were.
There is a simple solution to the accusation of a supposedly “immoral” $500 million climate change package offered by Australia — simply withdraw it and bring our delegates home. For the island leaders and New Zealand’s PM to suggest that Australia should compromise its energy security and economic prosperity based on climate models that have demonstrated an inability to predict even past climate trends is enough to make the remaining members of Monty Python quietly admit defeat and retire.
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