Ecologically illiterate politicians are missing the point

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Climate Solutions Fund will spend more than $2 billion on cutting greenhouse emissions by 2030.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: MICK TSIKAS

THIS week the Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new flagship, Climate Solutions Fund, will spend more than $2 billion on cutting greenhouse emissions by 2030 at the lowest possible cost.

However, this is unlikely to happen as six years of management by the Coalition has not reduced emissions.

Our emissions were only reduced in 2012-2013 by putting a price on carbon.

James Hansen, ex-NASA scientist, considered that an unhelpful effect of the cap-and-trade approach is that altruistic actions become meaningless.

So, say you are concerned for the future of your grandchildren, you decide to buy a highly efficient small car.

That will reduce your emissions, but not the country's or world's emissions.

Someone will just buy a bigger SUV.

Emissions are set by the fee-and-dividend approach, not by our actions using a cap-and-trade system.

In contrast, a simple flat fee (i.e. carbon tax) at the mine or well, with simple long division to determine the size of the monthly dividend to all local residents, provides no role for our ecologically illiterate parliamentarians in Canberra.

JOHN FRENCH

Caloundra

Originally published as Ecologically illiterate politicians are missing the point