It seems bad form to kick a country when it's down, but the Australian government is a disgrace. Its prime minister claims that that it will “meet and beat” its greenhouse-gas emissions reduction goals, but that seems fanciful, even though the goals are modest by international standards.
Per head of population, its carbon emissions are nearly the highest in the world and have been rising since 2013 when a promised carbon tax was scrapped. At CoP 25, diplomats accused Australia of jeopardising the climate agreements as it tried to get the ok to meet its Paris commitments by carrying over credits it earned from the Kyoto protocol (remember that?).
I read at the weekend that the bush fires are now approaching Canberra where the parliament sits. Maybe minds will be focused, but I doubt it. The Economist has the gory details (of the politics) ...
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