Fraser Island, Australia, which is included in the World Natural Heritage List, a raging fire burned for two months, causing birds and beasts to be scattered and the rainforest to ashes. Although a sudden heavy rain recently brought the local wildfires under control, the flooding caused by the heavy rain has brought new disasters to the east coast of Australia.
The frequent occurrence of extreme weather is not only an objective factor of global warming, but also reflects the huge negative impact caused by the political short-sightedness of Australia’s decision-makers. It is no wonder that Australian Prime Minister Morrison was not invited to speak at the Climate Ambition Summit held on the 13th.
According to the Guardian, the summit’s seats are only available to leaders of countries who set targets for the next decade, declare zero emissions, provide funding for developing countries, or formulate “ambitious” plans and policies. . Australia, which is seriously hindered, is clearly not among them.
Five years ago, Australia pledged at the Paris Conference on Climate Change to reduce carbon emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2030.
But forecasts at the end of last year showed that by 2030 Australia’s carbon emissions will be only 16% lower than 2005 levels. In particular, a fire that started in September 2019 lasted for more than four months, devouring 115,000 square kilometers of land, causing nearly 3 billion animals to die or lose their habitats, and causing new disturbances to Australia’s unqualified climate change response. Morrison’s negligence in handling wildfires has been widely criticized at home and abroad.
In December last year, while Australians were worried about the spreading wildfires, Morrison went to Hawaii for a vacation, causing a public outcry.
Simon Holmes Court, a senior consultant at the School of Energy at the University of Melbourne, wrote to the British “Guardian” earlier this year and criticized that Morrison “claimed that we only account for 1.3% of global carbon dioxide emissions, as if we were irrelevant. “. In fact, Australia’s population only accounts for about 0.3% of the world’s total population, but it is one of the countries with the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Just like Morrison’s arrogance, Australia has always been negative on the issue of climate change. It was once the only industrialized country outside the United States that refused to sign the “Kyoto Protocol.” Later, although Australia signed the “Paris Agreement”, as the United States announced its withdrawal from the agreement, Australia also drifted away from the “Paris Agreement.” As a developed country, Australia is so stubborn and evasive on the issue of climate change, it is really unreasonable.
From the industrial policy, it can also be seen that the Australian decision-making team is indifferent to the issue of climate change. Under the influence of mining and other interest groups, several Australian governments have refused to legislate on the emission reduction targets promised at the Paris Conference on Climate Change
Since traffic emissions account for approximately 19% of Australia’s total emissions, reducing the production and sales of high-fuel-guzzling models or introducing vehicle fuel efficiency standards should have been an important means for Australia to reduce emissions. However, according to a recent report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, high-fuel-guzzling models such as sport utility vehicles are still popular in Australia, and this country is the only developed country that has not introduced fuel efficiency standards.
On the eve of this climate ambition summit, in the face of cross-examinations about Australia’s emission reduction commitments, Morrison still said that “I only need to answer the Australian people here, and our government Will serve the Australian people”. Such prevarication made the international community extremely disappointed!
Addressing climate change is the common responsibility of all mankind, and it also conforms to the fundamental interests of the Australian people.
No matter how high-profile Morrison sings, it cannot conceal his true face of disregarding the interests of the Australian people and willing to be the spokesperson of interest groups. Just ask, how can a decision-maker who allows wildfires to spread, make people believe that he truly “serves the Australian people”? How long will the “muted” Morrison make his little calculations on the climate issue?
