Still leading the nation from the back bench
Scott Morrison wants to meet the Paris agreement and have cheap electricity. The have-cake: throw-cake-in-river option. How to resolve that dilemma (or at least have an answer for his Environment Minister, Melissa Price to give) — repeat the Tony Abbott plan.
“Direct Action” uses an auction system to find the cheapest ways to reduce CO2 — which obviously rules out intermittent renewables because they are wildly expensive. Abbott is painted as a denier, yet his plan was more effective at reducing CO2 than any of the Green’s schemes. Naturally this only makes the cult believers hate him more — because he threatens the cash cow for dependent renewables. He exposes how useless wind and solar are and thus, how most greens are hypocritical self-serving political activists who pretend to care for the environment in order to get rich, go on junkets, or pump their ego while they fly to skiing trips in Japan.
Direct Action back on the agenda
Graham Lloyd, The Australian
The Coalition will refocus environment policies on the Abbott-era Direct Action plan, including a rebooted Green Army and a reverse auction scheme to improve land management and help communities, Environment Minister Melissa Price has declared.
Melissa Price: We can meet Paris targets responsibly
Naturally, and for no good reason, this is not thanks to Abbott:
“I do not see it as a return (to Abbott-era policies). We have had very good environmental programs under Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.”
Direct Action reduces CO2 for $13 per ton
Wind Turbines cost seven times as much to reduce CO2. Solar PV is at best $110/ton (EIA), and in a badly managed plan, more like $2,000/ton. At best in Australia the RET (Renewable Energy Target) costs $57 per ton of reduction. We could reduce four times as much CO2 if we blew up the RET plan and used Direct Action.
The economy-wide scheme was the star-studded absolute worst — the Carbon Tax cost $5310 per ton — 300 times more expensive than the Direct Action auction.
There is about $250 million left of the $2.5bn original budget funding for the emissions reduction fund. The last auction in June supported 32 projects to save 6.67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions at an average price of $13.52 a tonne.
Direct Action proved to be up to 300 times more effective per dollar than the Carbon Tax. Where are the Green cheers?
That $2.5 billion was still $2.5 billion too much, but at least it improves soil, adds trees and has a few redeeming side benefits. Better than a scheme supporting jobs in China, banker’s yachts, and the installation of grid-destroying infrastructure. Why pay to make our electricity expensive, destroy jobs and our quality of life?
As I’ve said before, the only problem with Direct Action is that it doesn’t feed the parasites:
What Direct Action won’t “achieve” is a class of dependent corporates
The most important outcome is that, unlike a carbon market, there won’t be a new dependent class of companies who have to go to Parliament lobbyist-in-hand to beg or butter-up MP’s. With a blanket carbon tax, every industry wants carbon permits, or free passes, for themselves to keep doing business as usual. The carbon market of the EU, Rudd, and Gillard fosters these sort of deals and pleas. Big-government could use subsidies to feed industries that will vote and cheer for them (think renewables). They could use the fake free markets to put reigns on the real free market. (What would stop them?) The miners, the electricity generators, the manufacturers generate independent wealth and power, and if they choose to, they could run major campaigns against the big-government taxes and imposts. But if they need to ask special favours, they are less likely to rock the boat. A carbon price is just another tool to keep them in line and obedient; it sure isn’t much good at reducing carbon.
Thanks to Eric Huxter for estimating the solar PV cost of CO2 abatement in Australia.
Don’t forget this is only in Australia. Pretty much the rest of the world is too busy building coal fired power stations in the hundreds. So when is Morrison going to pull his finger out and drop the renewables subsidies to reduce power prices since nothing else will?
370
There is only one solution to give him room to tackle energy pricing. Simply shred that Bloody Paris Accord. Put it out of reach of Labor. Bury it good & deep, it’s not even worthwhile using it to make toilet tissue. Doing that will definitely keep his job for him as well!
140
Abbotts job is no good to Australia after the LNP are annihiated at the next election. Going by his posts on his Facebook page, I get the impression that he cares more about his beloved useless Liberal Party than about Australia, otherwise he would quit it and join Cory Bernadi’s ACP along with his supporters.
33
‘…including a rebooted Green Army …’
That was a fabulous idea which Turnbull killed, its resurrection is very timely.
If Morrison moved quickly he could add Tony’s expertise in the area and give him a Ministry by Xmas.
251
Yes Abbott has the expertise given he fought and won to scrap the carbon tax. He should now be involved directly to scrap the renewables subsidies, which is effectively having same effect as a carbon tax. Morrison has to understand he has nothing to lose and everything to win if he dumps Paris, RET and renewable subsidies. If he fails to deliver on those three key elements he will not get enough of the conservative support the LNP has lost over the recent past and hence Shorten becomes PM or at best we have a hung parliament. It’s that simple. If Morrison doesn’t understand all that he risks having the infamous title of being the last PM of the LNP for a long time if not forever.
241
The renewable subsidy is costing taxpayers $2.8 billion a year up to 2030, with money drifting to snake oil salesmen.
240
Cut the subsudies off…..
210
Morrison might need to bring down a mini budget abandoning all renewable subsidies, except for those contracts already entered into.
I would like to see him pull out of Paris, how much is this junket costing us?
190
‘The IPA released a research report Why Australia must exit the Paris Climate Agreement. The report estimates that the Paris Climate Agreement emissions targets will impose a $52 billion economic cost, over 2018-2030. This equates to $8,566 per family.’
IPA
191
I read recently that 80% of the dumbarses in Aus want more government action to tackle climate change. Removing subsidies at this stage would be political suicide unless energy costs take a dramatic plunge virtually overnight as a result. IMO the government doesn’t have enough time left before they have to call an election for the public to notice a large enough improvement in the cost of living to give the LNP another chance.
30
Yes and all those billions are being paid by consumers. Morrison must think we have too much money and so we won’t mind donating all that to the renewables scam. If the world went to even 100% renewables there will be no impact on the climate. Anyone who doesn’t believe the renewables industry is the biggest scam of all time must be either brain dead or plain dead. Which one are you Mr Morrison?
90
There’s a huge ‘Trump Effect’ vote out there in Australia that’s sitting there wasted by the LNP, no wonder the Liberal black hand fought so hard to keep Dutton out of the leadership considering Abbott’s past success, regardless of what politicians or the MSM present as truth if the Australian public have forgotten how the strong economies were created then all is lost.
90
All those “Trump Effect” votes should then go to ON and ACP, and I’m sure many will. It’s not ideal but it’s far better than wasting them on the two major parties.
30
Cory has stated plainly, and it was repeated to me by Kevin Bailey, that the ACs focus is the Senate. There are very few alternatives in the Reps to the majors, especially in Vic.
00
Expect nothing of Morrison and you won’t be disappointed. A non-event. Good ole two-bob-each-way Morrison. They will thieve as many of Abbott’s ideas as they can and give him zero credit whilst distancing themselves from and rubbishing him at every opportunity. Don’t forget Abbott only came up with his Direct Action plan to shut the green whingers up. He still thought global warming was crap.
And why do we need any of this Direct Action? Apologies for this thread-bomb but this is way too good to pass up:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/09/17/what-will-persuade-conservatives-to-fight-climate-change-the-same-things-that-would-persuade-us-to-fight-plate-tectonics-entropy-and-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics/?cn-reloaded=1
Perhaps if some Labor members read it (after suitable remedial reading comprehension lessons) they might gain an insight into the stupidity of their position on global warming/renewables/carbon taxes etc and see that Abbott was right all along. All this hoo-haa about carbon abatement and decarbonisation is a giant steaming load of you know what.
190
Emerging out of Direct Action was the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), which was a blatant pork barrel.
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/hunt/2013/mr20131112.html
‘And why do we need any of this Direct Action?’
We don’t, but Morrison might be considering his political options.
30
“The prime minister is holding firm against conservatives who are lobbying him to pull out of the Paris target to reduce carbon emissions.
Mr Morrison said abandoning the Paris commitment to cut emissions to 26 per cent from 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 wouldn’t do a “jot” to cut prices.”
https://thewest.com.au/politics/pm-rejects-calls-to-abandon-paris-targets-ng-s-1892474
~ ~ ~
Mr Morrison said
abandoningabiding by the Paris commitment to cut emissions to 26 per cent from 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 wouldn’t do a “jot” to cutpricesweather or climate, extreme or not.”> There. Fixed that.
110
I can see it already. Shorten will go to the election saying that Morrison agrees him; RETs do not have an impact on prices. Morrison really needs to wake up.
100
The fix is in….
90
Direct Action reduces CO2 for $13 per ton – how about INCREASE CO2 (the life gas) for $ZERO per ton. DUMP PARIS. [agree with beowulf with that link].
190
“Carolyn Fortuna, one of CleanTechnica’s energy industry and climate science [non] experts (AKA a sustainability blogger), has put forth a list of six reasons conservatives should fight climate change…” There isnt one piece of science in any of their graphs or statements..
80
Last night I watched a news report from Canada in which they said Trudeau’s government plans to put a carbon tax on wood fired heaters, and subsequently ban all wood heaters by 2025. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me; but, it is Trudeau and Environment Barbie.
In addition, somebody has come up with a proposal to convert all coal fired electricity generators with wood. Ie: chop down the rain forests in order to save the planet.
Meanwhile, the EU is mandating that cars do 56 miles/gallon by 2030(?) or go all electric. The electricity to drive these electric cars
I think Einstein was being optimistic when he said that human stupidity is infinite.
180
Last night I watched a news report from Canada in which they said Trudeau’s government plans to put a carbon tax on wood fired heaters, and subsequently ban all wood heaters by 2025. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me; but, it is Trudeau and Environment Barbie.
In addition, somebody has come up with a proposal to convert all coal fired electricity generators with wood. Ie: chop down the rain forests in order to save the planet.
Meanwhile, the EU is mandating that cars do 56 miles/gallon by 2030(?) or go all electric. The electricity to drive these electric cars
I think Einstein was being optimistic when he said that human stupidity is infinite.
70
But wood is “carbon neutral”….
20
Sorry David, wood is far from carbon neutral.
By the time you have cut down the trees, carted them to a mill, cut them up into suitable sizes, split the resultant wood blocks, packed them for distribution, it has so much diesel consumed, a gas fire would produce less CO2.
Of course if it has to be pelletised to sell it to some crazy pom to use to generate electricity it is even worse.
Someone recently did some math on our milk some of it is very well travelled, up to 3000 kilometres behind a diesel engine by the time it gets into a shop. He reckoned there was at least a liter of Diesel in every 2 litre bottle of milk.
Evidently some of our milk has been powered & reconstituted by the time it gets to the “fresh Food” people.
40
Well, here’s a ‘carbon offsetting’ perspective to Hasbeen’s example, direct from the forest’s edge in British Columbia [for context, William did mention Canada up above]: from where I’m sitting I can see my wood stove, and looking out my window I can see two fir trees that blew down in a recent wind storm. The trees need to be cleaned up whether I burn them or not; there is a restrictive covenant requiring me to prevent the accumulation of potential forest fire fuel on my property.
Transportation is handled with my wheelbarrow, and I split the wood with a maul. So, zero diesel consumed, and just a couple liters of gasoline for my chainsaw.
I don’t see how the 1:2 diesel:milk (d:m) ratio is relevant to burning wood in a stove. Thinking about the claim though… if the tanker truck is the example being supplied, my ‘sniff test’ would be to look at the relative sizes of the cargo tanks and the fuel tanks that supply the diesel engine. Let’s say five hundred liters of diesel and forty thousand liters of milk. My guess is that the number of fuel-ups for a 3,000 km trip would be closer to four (1:20 d:m) than forty (1:2).
30
Last night I watched a news report from Canada in which they said Trudeau’s government plans to put a carbon tax on wood fired heaters, and subsequently ban all wood heaters by 2025. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me; but, it is Trudeau and Environment Barbie.
In addition, somebody has come up with a proposal to convert all coal fired electricity generators with wood. Ie: chop down the rain forests in order to save the planet.
Meanwhile, the EU is mandating that cars do 56 miles/gallon by 2030(?) or go all electric. The electricity to drive these electric cars is apparently going to come from Unicorn farts.
I think Einstein was being optimistic when he said that human stupidity is infinite.
70
WTF?????
I don’t know how my semi finished rant got posted.
Sorry!
80
It got better by the third time.
I especially like how you passed new legislation for the EU to use illogical arcane units of measure.
310
Oh behave, gee aye ..
70
Far from arcane GA. Used by the USA and very well understood by we old white poms!
70
I suspect that you can’t stay in power without a measure of hypocrisy, but it needs to be hypocrisy for the good of one’s country. When there is no choice, wasting millions on Abbott’s green nonsense with marginal conservation benefits is better than wasting tens of billions implementing the goals of Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development.
Abbott, for all his faults and his tin ear, was always a better choice because he was essentially a nationalist, and the electorate sensed it. Turnbull was everything his boosters said he wasn’t: ignorant, inarticulate and an incompetent wastrel whose pre-arranged job was to be an incompetent wastrel. (Nobody comes up with Adelaide subs and Uphill Snowy just through being thick.)
Empty mediocrities like Turnbull are ideal for the goals of globalism…which is why he was installed, as Gillard was installed. The problem is not disposable snakes like these two, but the agenda which boosted them. There is nothing haphazard or spontaneous about that agenda, which has only one final aim: control.
Forget green. Green Blob is just one plank in a vast platform of control, as evil as any of the last century’s murderous “isms”. Here’s more from Rosa Koire on how urgent it’s getting: https://tinyurl.com/y7fyo4yn
101
18 Sept: Age: Angus Taylor confirms government ‘won’t be replacing’ renewable energy target
In question time on Tuesday, Greens MP Adam Bandt challenged Mr Taylor to extend the target until 2022 to avoid a disastrous plunge in renewables investment when the current target ends.
“The renewable energy target is going to wind down from 2020, it reaches its peak in 2020, and we won’t be replacing that with anything,” Mr Taylor said.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/angus-taylor-confirms-government-won-t-be-replacing-renewable-energy-target-20180918-p504j1.html
18 Sept: Guardian: Coalition won’t replace renewables target after it winds down in 2020
‘We will reach the 26% emission reduction target without additional intervention,’ minister says
by Katharine Murphy
Recent polling suggests voters are more worried about climate change than they were 12 months ago. A study tracking voter sentiment for more than a decade, funded first by the Climate Institute and now by the Australia Institute, finds 73% (up from 66% in 2017) of respondents are concerned about climate change, and a clear majority, 68%, believes the government should set domestic targets to comply with our Paris commitments.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/18/coalition-wont-replace-renewables-target-after-it-winds-down-in-2020
20
Didn’t Bandt say unreliables were cheaper ? If so they don’t need subsidies.
As for Bandt and I presume the Greens , just watching the Bolt report and he showed a photo of Bandt wearing a Tshirt wanting police drug sniffer dogs to be banned .
40
Jo, it is reins not reigns.
20
Abbott is smart…its a cleverly crafted trap….damned if they do, damned if they dont …
20
http://catallaxyfiles.com/2018/06/15/cut-the-beer-tax-and-win-a-landslide-a-la-ontario/ This worked a treat in Ontario. Would go gangbusters here but no party has the cohones to guarantee its implementation Bernadies party claims to have these policies, but do not appear to be interested in proclaiming it from the rooftops.
20
I find Melissa Price under the thumb of globalists!
In her opinion piece here she states:
60
While Australia and the rest of the Paris Discord limp along into economic oblivion spurred by an ideologically fuelled non-problem and the lure of infinite looted wealth until it isn’t, the US continues its drive to securely thrive and prosper.
To think Australia could be an economic power house of innovation, prosperity, freedom and traditional western values, yet it sabotages itself more thoroughly than China could ever hope to achieve in its wildest most lurid totalitarian dreams. Clearly, the communists have yet to meet the Rainbow Cult.
151
If China takes over Australia the rainbow cult will be among the first to be executed. They can stand in their way of building nuclear and coal fired power stations but the Chinese won’t be turning on the fire-hoses on them, they will be turning on the blow torches.
131
Paris Discord. 🙂
80
Plastique Betrayed. 🙂
20
“asli bijli” = fair dinkum power
Actual quote from Scott Morrison MP’s chat with Ray Hadley:
“[I want] to see how we can get greater investment in what I call ‘fair dinkum power‘; that’s the stuff that works when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.”
@2.31 sec: https://www.2gb.com/the-people-have-had-a-gutful-scott-morrison-slams-nonsense-in-canberra/
August 2014: The India Today article goes on to describe how Bihar citizens “want asli bijli (real electricity) from the government” and that village youngsters were carrying placards demanding “real source of energy“, and “not the fake solar powered” one.
http://notrickszone.com/2014/08/28/worlds-poor-reject-half-modern-half-primitive-green-life-demand-real-electricity-not-fake-greenpeace-solar/
Note To PM Morrison: get a clue.
100
The Greens were never happy with the Green Army, because the government had diverted funds from Landcare to make it happen.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale welcomed the decision by the Turnbull government to destroy the army.
“We always opposed the Green Army. It was not an environmental program, it was an employment program and a bad one at that.” SMH
That is not entirely true, 40% of the recruits found useful employment after their stint.
80
The last thing a Green wants to see is the employment of anything useful, this why many are “working” on committees.
30
lots on questioning of Great Barrier Reef Foundation re the $444 million plus …
Twitter: Kristina Keneally re-tweeted:
Shorten Suite
Angus Taylor tells #qt the Renewable Target Target is dead.
Prime Muppet says it’s safe.
Stable. Government.
https://twitter.com/KKeneally?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
10
Peta Credlin on Sky had plenty on American “futurist” being consulted over changes to our maths curriculum, but I wasn’t concentrating so am not sure if it relates to the national curriculum or NSW only. mention of ***OECD – Education 2030 caught my attention.
Credlin was scathing about Christopher Pyne and Simon Birmingham’s involvement. guess it’s this, behind paywall:
Students set for shift to ‘radical’ 21st century curriculum – The Australian
The Australian – 4 days ago
ACARA’s former director of curriculum Fiona Mueller in Canberra yesterday. … and futurist Charles Fadel, to work on a new maths curriculum.
check out more on the following – have only excerpted a little:
Center for Curriculum Redesign: Charles Fadel, Founder and Chairman
Charles Fadel is a global education thought leader and futurist, author and inventor, with several active affiliations; his work spans the continuum of Schools, Higher Education, and Workforce Development/Lifelong Learning…
•Founder and President of the Fondation Helvetica Educatio (Geneva, Switzerland) focused on global education matters…
https://curriculumredesign.org/about/team/
•Visiting practitioner at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in the Mind, Brain and Education program, exploring curriculum redesign issues in an age of artificial intelligence…
•Chair of the Education committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nominated by the US Chamber of International Business (USCIB). He works with several teams at the ***OECD – Education 2030, PISA, and CERI most notably…
Charles is a highly sought-after keynoter/presenter at private, national and international events for organizations as varied as the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, World Bank, OECD, Google TechTalk, Gates Foundation, National Science Foundation, World Future Society, NY Times Schools of Tomorrow, International Baccalaureate, ERB, SSATB, ACT, Learning & the Brain, British Council, CEA-ACE, etc.
He has contributed to and has been featured by media such as National Public Radio (NPR), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Huffington Post, eSchool News, Education Week, University Business, Technology & Learning, and many others…
Charles consults very selectively with high-potential jurisdictions, schools, universities, corporations and foundations around the globe including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States, to name a few, and has contributed to education projects in more than thirty countries…
An avid reader, he has autodidactically learned emerging disciplines such as evolutionary psychology…
https://curriculumredesign.org/about/team/
30
How about hydrocarbon generators being able to sell electricity as green for every equivalent ton of carbon buried as
silage by farmers in drought prone areas. The farmers encouraged by an electricity bill discount from the generators for doing that. Silage is just buried animal food like hay. It has a very very long storage life if oxygen can’t get to it. By the time it becomes obvious to all that there never was a man made climate change problem Australia would be nearly drought proof.
50
With such a plan expect coal fired power stations to suddenly become viable again (as if they ever weren’t), and the national water grid ideas to be more popular.
“Brian Bowman and son, Andrew inspect the bales of rye grass and lucerne hay just dug out of a silage pit Mr Bowman put in at “Shingle Hut”, Dunedoo, when Andrew was just 10 years of age in 1996.”
https://www.theland.com.au/story/5476417/silage-pits-have-been-saving-the-day-at-dunedoo-for-decades/
“”We had 130 hectares of honeygreen, which is just forage sorghum and we got a good crop — it averaged 40 tonne to the hectare, which is for us a good crop — and that gave us some total of about 5,200 tonne or forage … which is timely because we’re facing another drought this year,” Mr Tritton said.”
“”Then we’ve got another 200 hectares of grain sorghum that we’ll chop for silage rather than take the grain,” he said.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-05-03/record-harvest-helps-drought-proof-property/7380592
30
12 Sept: AFR: CKI pipeline bid risks veto on national security grounds
by Phillip Coorey, Angela Macdonald-Smith
A $13 billion bid by Hong Kong’s CK Group for Australia’s east coast gas pipeline network has been cleared by the competition watchdog but faces stiff opposition from all levels of federal government on national security grounds…
With the bid needing the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board, senior sources told The Australian Financial Review that the government’s initial disposition was to block the bid although no decision had yet been made.
The government is also mindful that blocking the bid would further infuriate Beijing, which was angry over the decision last month to veto Chinese telco Huawei from playing any part in Australia’s new 5G network…
ACCC chairman Rod Sims declared yesterday he was powerless to prevent CKI’s takeover of APA Group…
However, in 2017 the FIRB approved a CKI bid to take over energy company DUET, giving it ownership of the Dampier, Bunbury gas pipeline in WA and gas and electricity distribution assets in Melbourne. In 2014, CKI purchased gas distribution networks in South Australia, Victoria, regional NSW, Queensland and the NT.
The APA bid, which was launched in June this year, would increase CKI’s gas pipeline market share from the existing 15.2 per cent to 59.8 per cent by significantly boosting its holdings in NSW Queensland, Victoria and the NT.
This, combined with State Grid’s ownership of the Jemena gas network in NSW, would result in more than 70 per cent of the nation’s gas network being Chinese and Hong Kong controlled. To ease competition concerns, CKI has offered to divest some gas assets in WA.
https://www.afr.com/news/cki-pipeline-bid-risks-veto-on-national-security-grounds-20180911-h159ar
14 Sept: SMH: Foreign fears over China pipeline bid overblown, say energy experts
By Cole Latimer
A source close to the deal, who wished to remain anonymous, said there would be no major hurdles from FIRB and that security fears had been overblown.
“Relative to telcos or electricity networks, you can’t use it to eavesdrop or spy on people, so the pipelines haven’t been – and shouldn’t be – regarded as sensitive.”
“The government has put out [security] directives around the security of electricity transmission and distribution but not around gas transmission,” he said.
The source added that more than two-thirds of the investors in CKI are the same as APA, including groups such as Blackrock and Vanguard…
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/foreign-fears-over-china-pipeline-bid-overblown-say-energy-experts-20180913-p503l0.html
10
comment in moderation re 12 Sept: AFR: CKI pipeline bid risks veto on national security grounds
Bolt on Sky with Gerard Henderson on ABC Media Watch/Paul Barry’s latest attack on Bolt over drought data – with Barry insisting “there is now widespread agreement among scientists that climate change is making Australia’s droughts more severe”, but providing no data.
in fact, Barry just quotes Fiona Simson, Fran Kelly & the like!
17 Sept: ABC Media Watch: Paul Barry: Missing climate
News Corp papers run dead on any link between drought and climate change
TRANSCRIPT:
After Malcolm Turnbull told the ABC last month that climate change was making the drought worse, News Corp’s Andrew Bolt hit back:…
BARRY: There is now widespread agreement among scientists that climate change is making Australia’s droughts more severe.
But, as we’ll see, the News Corp tabloids and The Australian have been extremely reluctant to report claims that the two are linked.
A fortnight ago, National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson told the National Press Club…
And this was duly reported in The Guardian.
And in The Australian Financial Review…
The PM’s admission made headlines in The New Daily, Ten Daily and Nine News, among others.
And it also prompted widespread debate on several other sites.
Plus this plea from the bush to the government in the Financial Review to tackle climate change, and similar pleas to the public from farmers on the ABC:
And this reluctance from the government has made headlines around the world.
But they could have just as easily pointed their fingers at News Corp papers here. Because last week they went missing again when we were told:
FRAN KELLY: … an increasing number of voters say they believe the climate is changing. This is according to the annual Climate of the Nation survey.
– RN Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 12 September, 2018
That news was also in Fairfax and The Guardian but nowhere to be found on News Corp websites or in its papers…READ ALL
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/missing-climate/10255260
10
Thank you Jo, the MSM ceased to be the Fourth Estate decades ago, sadly young people do not even understand Fifth Columns do, or, what they are.
60
Turns out emitting a trace gas (CO2) is a truly lousy way of killing great white sharks … also, tiny phytoplankton, fish, squid and jellies …
Mysterious great white shark lair discovered in Pacific Ocean
“But the researchers made a remarkable discovery.
Instead of blank, barren sea, the expedition, led by scientists with Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, found a vast community of tiny light-sensitive creatures so tantalizing that the sharks cross the sea en masse to reach them.
The primary lure, scientists believe, is an extraordinary abundance of squid and small fish that migrate up and down in a little understood deep-water portion of ocean known as the “mid-water,” a region skirting the edge of complete darkness that could provide an immeasurably valuable trove of information about the ocean ecosystem and climate change”
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mysterious-great-white-shark-lair-discovered-in-13234068.php?t=5c043f9ce3&f?
30
O/T – a different sort of climate change
“BREAKING: President Trump Directs Dan Coats (DNI), Jeff Sessions (DOJ) and Christopher Wray (FBI) To Declassify Documents and Release Unredacted Text Messages…”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/09/17/breaking-president-trump-directs-dan-coats-dni-jeff-sessions-doj-and-christopher-wray-fbi-to-declassify-documents-and-release-unredacted-text-messages/
50
18 Sept: Financial Times: Chinese willing to hand over control of UK nuclear plant
CGN bows to political sensitivities as it lays out plans for Bradwell
by Sylvia Pfeifer and Myles McCormick in London
CGN, China’s leading nuclear energy company, has admitted that political sensitivities could prompt it to give up the chance to operate a new atomic power plant in the UK, as the group also outlined ambitious plans for an industrial partnership with Britain.
State-owned CGN would consider not running the nuclear power station it intends to build at Bradwell in Essex using its own reactor technology, said Zheng Dongshan, chief executive of the company’s UK subsidiary.
CGN is due to hold a majority stake in the Bradwell plant, with France’s EDF having the remainder, under a contract signed between the two companies in 2016.
But prime minister Theresa May — in contrast to her predecessor David Cameron — has put Chinese investment in the UK’s nuclear energy sector under increased scrutiny since she took office…
CGN, he said, would be willing to consider “not being the majority operator” at the Bradwell plant, where under its agreement with EDF the Chinese company is due to hold a 66.5 per cent stake…
The UK government regards new nuclear power stations as vital to provide electricity as ageing atomic and coal-fired plants close in the coming years, and Britain aims to comply with tough targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions…
Should the Bradwell project proceed, it would be the first power plant in Britain to use Chinese reactor technology called the Hualong HPR1000, which has been developed by CGN and a domestic partner…
He added construction by CGN of the Fangchenggang nuclear power station in China — using the Hualong HPR1000 technology — was going smoothly…
CGN has invested more than £2bn in its British nuclear projects in the past two years, and has committed to spend £9.5bn in this area in total. The company also has 300 megawatts of wind power generation capacity in the UK…
In the UK, Hinkley Point has come under fire after Mr Cameron’s government agreed in 2013 to guarantee a price of £92.50/MWh for electricity from the power station for the first 35 years of its operation, with the figure rising in line with inflation…
But supporters of nuclear energy have argued the overall cost of renewables needs to take account of how this power source comes to a halt when the sun does not shine or the wind stops blowing…
Mr Zheng said the increased capability of the sector and the supply chain from working on several projects would reduce cost.The UK business department said: “Nuclear has an important role to play in the UK’s energy future as we continue our transition to a low-carbon economy, and the government remains committed to new nuclear.”
https://www.ft.com/content/1a44e152-b762-11e8-b3ef-799c8613f4a1
20
even as coal is penalised:
18 Sept: UK Times: Emily Gosden: Old king coal is back as gas costs rise
High gas prices have triggered a resurgence in electricity generation from coal as it becomes the cheaper option.
Britain could see its first increase in carbon emissions in six years if coal-fired power plants continue to undercut gas ones, according to Imperial College London.
Coal plants were the biggest source of electricity as recently as 2013 but their share of the energy mix fell precipitously and they supplied less than 7 per cent of UK power last year.
Their demise was driven by environmental legislation, carbon pricing, which penalises polluting coal more than cleaner burning gas, and low gas prices.
However, gas prices have risen over recent months after supply disruptions and low storage levels, and are at ten-year highs. That has made coal competitive once more, despite rising European carbon prices…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/249dfb74-bab5-11e8-8fbe-1261885931e2
40
There is simple way Morrison could make hero of himself with most power consumers, not Greens voters but who cares what they think. If he develops a policy where all old 30% efficient coal plants are systematically replaced by new up to 60% efficient coal plants electricity prices should overtime return to pre-Rudd levels while CO2 will more than achieve Paris and possibly Labours 50% target.
40
17 Sept: Xinhua: China Focus: WEF founder optimistic about China’s growth
TIANJIN – Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), said Monday that he’s optimistic about China’s economic growth.
Over the past 40 years, there have been many critics and pessimists who always forecasted that China’s economic growth would come to an end, but they turned to be wrong, Schwab told Xinhua in Tianjin ahead of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2018, also known as Summer Davos.
“I remain optimistic,” he added.
China’s GDP expanded 6.8 percent in the first half of the year, above the government’s annual target of around 6.5 percent. The growth has remained between 6.7 percent and 6.9 percent for 12 consecutive quarters, highlighting its economic resilience.
Schwab pointed out that the world economy is facing many challenges, such as trade frictions, possible downturn due to the natural economic cycle, debt problems and the impact of ***global warming.
Countries should recognize the challenges, join forces and eliminate the risks in the global cooperation, he added…
Calculated with constant prices, China’s GDP rose 33.5 times in the 1978-2017 period, representing average annual growth of 9.5 percent, much higher than the world average of about 2.9 percent during the same period.
But GDP growth is not China’s only concern, as Schwab put it, China has also realized the importance of improving people’s lives and protecting the environment…
To help China further integrate into the world economy, the first China International Import Expo, the world’s first import-themed national-level expo, will be held in November.
“It’s very important. We need open markets, but we also need a certain equilibrium between exports and imports to safeguard global peaceful and collaborative relations,” Schwab said.
Themed “Shaping Innovative Societies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” nearly 200 meetings will be held from Tuesday to Thursday. More than 2,000 politicians, businesspeople, scholars, and media representatives will attend the event.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/17/c_137474548.htm
18 Sept: Imperial College London: Imperial researchers show world leaders how to tackle air pollution at WEF
by Stephen Johns
Three Imperial academics presented their solutions to tackling air pollution to global leaders at the World Economic Forum in China.
The researchers – from Imperial’s Air Quality Network – were invited to present an IdeasLab session at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin…
Ten student entrepreneurs from Imperial’s Enterprise Lab were also invited to attend the Forum – first time we’ve been invited to bring a delegation of start-ups…
Vice President (Innovation) Professor David Gann, said: “Imperial is China’s top research collaborator in the UK and we are keen to strengthen our great links with industry and our extensive alumni network…
Dr de Nazelle said: “There is an exciting opportunity to go much further, and fundamentally rethink the way cities work – such as making streets safe places for walking, cycling and playing.
By removing cars from cities, toxic emissions are reduced but there are countless other benefits – such as to people’s health and wellbeing. Air pollution can spur us to transform public health and infrastructure, and change how we design cities in the future.”
Writing ahead of the conference in the article ‘What would happen if we removed cars from cities? for WEF Agenda (LINK), Dr de Nazelle explains her bold idea…
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/188206/imperial-researchers-show-world-leaders-tackle/
10
Jo, a critical fact that supports Tony Abbott’s Direct action is illustrated by the diagram on page 15 of this report:
which clearly shows the net cost of a wide range of ‘carbon abatement opportunities’ in $ per tonne of CO2 equivalent avoided, which range from approximately -Euros 170 to +Euros 40/tonne. The critical factor is that those forms of abatement which are shown with a negative cost/tonne represent actual economic savings, whereas those with a positive cost/tonne represent economic losses. Tony seems to have actually understood this diagram and figured (correctly) that implementing abatement options that save the economy money make a hell of a lot more sense than ones that cost the economy money. Needless to say, those options that save money are boring things like better insulation, HVAC and lighting, whereas those that cost money (and lots of it) are sexy things like CCS, bio-diesel and coal to gas. BTW, right in the middle, at a low nett cost/tonne is nuclear power.
20
Something I never understood: You’d think that environmentalists would be in favour of planting trees. Heretic, thy name is Abbott. Who would have guessed?
00