Australia's climate change shame

The UN Climate Change negotiations are currently taking place in Poland. Australia has declined to send any Ministers, an unprecedented move that has drawn condemnation from many quarters.

On Monday the latest Climate Change Performance Index was published and Australia comes out badly.

You would be forgiven for thinking that under Rudd/Gillard Australia was really out there pushing the boundaries on climate change, and that the Carbon Tax was a major policy initiative that left other countries lagging behind. In truth Australia was 51st of 61 countries on the league table of countries doing most to alleviate climate change.

With the repeal of the Carbon Tax by the idiot Abbott simply to score a political point Australia is now seen as a force that is "anti-climate" and has dropped to 58 out of 61*.

The Economics of climate change is clear and without reservation says that a price must be placed on carbon. My own country lags only behind Denmark on the league table and the measures taken there have widespread and bipartisan support. It's time Australia stopped being so selfish.

The Guardian reports the story here

*The countries below Australia are Iran, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia