Kyoto protocol
Nice going, Australia:
I had no idea the Kyoto protocol was so widely ratified.
Of course, the government has decided to spin the protocol as outdated and something which needs to be ‘moved beyond’ (by which they presumably mean ‘ignored’).
But the federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, says Australia is focused on measures that should be taken after Kyoto expires in 2012. (ABC)
Early this year I happened to be sitting in the gallery of the house of reps on the day Australia was required to say whether it would ratify the Kyoto protocol. Howard and most of the government got up and walked out after question time, and Beazley stood and gave a long and rather impassioned speech about how important the protocol is. It seems like one of those issues where everyone can see it coming, slowly but inevitably. And there’s going to be lots of apologising after it’s far too late, but the incumbents here and in the US basically seem to have decided it’s a better bet politically or economically to pretend the issue doesn’t exist.