Another greenhouse betrayal

The Keating Labor government continues to try to stall international action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On October 14, scientists, economists and politicians from 100 countries finalised a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the social and economic impacts of climate change. Canberra's representatives at the meeting in Montreal tried, unsuccessfully, to soften the IPCC report's call for early action to reduce emissions. The Australian government's strategy at the IPCC meeting was based on a paper prepared by an Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and subsidised to the tune of $100,000 by the Australian Coal Association. It opposed uniform binding targets to cut greenhouse emissions after 2000, and sought to shift the responsibility for emission cuts to Third World countries. Australia has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world, nearly twice the average of all the industrialised countries. At the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Australian government promised to cut greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. However, greenhouse emissions in Australia have increased since then and will exceed current emissions by 38% by 2005. At the Berlin international convention held in April to assess developments a decade after the Rio summit, Australia also sought to stall international greenhouse action. Australia's irresponsible greenhouse policy is dictated by the Keating government's commitment to corporate profits over environmental and social needs — a reactionary commitment which is reflected also in economic, political and social policies.