Tony Abbot's Pathetic Attempt To Buy Relevance For Australia In Climate Talks
THE ABBOTT GOVERNMENT has finally caved in to international pressure and begrudgingly committed money to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing nations deal with the impacts of global warming.
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It is clear that they have realised that they are so far on the outer that they will have no influence in the negotiations and will not be able to weaken rules or edit texts unless they contributed in some way. Whether it will be enough of a gesture remains to be seen. As to how far the $200 million will go, and where it has come from, that part is clear.
In 2012, as the Deputy Opposition Leader, Julie Bishop criticised the Gillard government on ABC News24's Weekend Breakfast program, saying: "Climate change funding should not be disguised as foreign aid funding. That's been the view of the United Nations and yet this government still continues to do it. We would certainly not spend our foreign aid budget on climate change programs." Fast forward almost exactly two years, and the joint statement from Prime Minister Abbott and Foreign Minister Bishop reads: "We will allocate $200 million over four years from our aid program to Australia's contribution to the Green Climate Fund."
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Mr Abbott is so busy captaining his barnacle-ridden budget wreck and his simplistic, exclusive "Team Australia" that he has proactively isolated Australia from real action on climate change, which is the biggest threat facing our security and economy. The problem isn't ignorance; it is wilful denial and obstruction. While the rest of the world has declared 'game on' for the 2015 climate summit in Paris, Captain Abbott is doing as little as possible in the field, because he's not playing to win for people or the planet, he's using tactics to fix the game in favour of the fossil fuel industries at the big end of town.
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http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2014/12/11/4146692.htm