Global Warming Policy Foundation
10 June 2014
Obama Isolated As Western Allies Oppose Unilateral Climate Policies
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won’t take any action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that no country is going to undertake actions on climate change — “no matter what they say” — that will “deliberately destroy jobs and growth in their country.” –Mark Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen, 9 June 2014
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seeking an alliance among “like-minded” nations to thwart efforts to introduce carbon pricing and American President Barack Obama’s move to push climate change through global forums like G20. Abbott, who is visiting Canada for talks with the country’s prime minister and his close friend Stephen Harper, said efforts are underway to form a new “center-right” alliance under the leadership of Canada, UK, Australia, India and New Zealand. Reports said the alliance is a “calculated attempt” to push back on what both Mr Abbott and Mr Harper sees as a “left-liberal agenda” to raise taxes and “unwise” plans to address the issue of global warming. –Reissa Su, International Business Times, 10 June 2014
1) Australia And Canada Form Climate Realist Alliance – Ottawa Citizen, 9 June 2014
2) Australia, Canada To ‘Forge Alliance’ To Counter Obama’s Green Agenda – International Business Times, 10 June 2014
3) Britain Should Join Commonwealth Alliance Against ‘Unhealthy’ Climate Policy, Says Australian PM – The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2014
4) Obama’s Climate Plan Faces Years Of Legal Challenges – The Hill, 8 June 2014
5) EU Remains Divided Over Proposed CO2 Targets – Responding to Climate Change, 7 June 2014
6) And Finally: British Banana Republic – Bishop Hill, 10 June 2014
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won’t take any action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, made the statements following a meeting on Parliament Hill. Both leaders stressed that they won’t be pushed into taking steps on climate change they deem unwise. Harper said that no country is going to undertake actions on climate change — “no matter what they say” — that will “deliberately destroy jobs and growth in their country. “We are just a little more frank about that.” –Mark Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen, 9 June 2014
“Like-minded” countries such as Britain, Canada and India should form a conservative alliance with Australia to limit action on climate change and to prevent the introduction of carbon pricing, the country’s prime minister Tony Abbott has said. Seeking to counter Barack Obama’s efforts for international action to reduce carbon emissions, Mr Abbott has reportedly sought to create a “combined front” with fellow Commonwealth nations that have conservative governments. During a visit to Canada, Mr Abbott called for limited action on climate change that would not “clobber the economy”. –Jonathan Pearlman, The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2014
Europe’s climate strategy was founded on two fears: first, that global warming was an urgent threat that needed to be prevented imminently and at all costs; and second, that the world was running out of fossil fuels, which meant oil and gas would become ever more expensive. Both conjectures, however, turned out to be wrong. The result of a fear-driven gamble with the Continent’s industrial future is a costly shambles that threatens to undercut Europe’s economic and political position in a world that is sensibly refusing to follow its lead. Australians would be well advised to watch this green train wreck very closely if they wish to avoid a repeat of the fiasco that is unfolding in Europe. –Benny Peiser, The Australian, 10 August 2013
A key concession touted by vulnerable Democrats in the administration’s new carbon pollution standards may provide the greatest legal threat to the controversial new rules, the cornerstone of President Obama’s climate change agenda. Red-state Democrats have generally been critical of the overall climate rule, but see the flexibility option as a benefit for energy industries, allowing each state to choose a method that reflects its priorities. Legal observers, though, aren’t sure the EPA’s maneuver will pass muster in the courts. Many legal experts, and even Obama’s top climate adviser, John Podesta, expect challenges, putting the future of the rules in the hands of the courts once it’s finalized. –Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, 8 June 2014
1) Australia And Canada Form Climate Realist Alliance
Ottawa Citizen, 9 June 2014
Mark Kennedy
The political leaders of Canada and Australia declared on Monday they won’t take any action to battle climate change that harms their national economies and threatens jobs.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, made the statements following a meeting on Parliament Hill.
Abbott, whose Liberal party came to power last fall on a conservative platform, publicly praised Harper for being an “exemplar” of “centre-right leadership” in the world.
Abbott’s government has come under criticism for its plan to cancel Australia’s carbon tax, while Harper has been criticized for failing to introduce regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada’s oil and gas sector.
Later this week, Abbott meets with U.S. President Barack Obama, who has vowed to make global warming a political priority and whose administration is proposing a 30-per-cent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 2030.
At a Monday news conference, Harper and Abbott both said they welcomed Obama’s plan. Abbott said he plans to take similar action, and Harper boasted that Canada is already ahead of the U.S. in imposing controls on the “electricity sector.”
But both leaders stressed that they won’t be pushed into taking steps on climate change they deem unwise.
“It’s not that we don’t seek to deal with climate change,” said Harper. “But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth. Not destroy jobs and growth in our countries.”
Harper said that no country is going to undertake actions on climate change — “no matter what they say” — that will “deliberately destroy jobs and growth in their country.
“We are just a little more frank about that.”
Abbott said climate change is a “significant problem” but he said it is not the “most important problem the world faces.
“We should do what we reasonably can to limit emissions and avoid climate change, man-made climate change,” said Abbott.
“But we shouldn’t clobber the economy. That’s why I’ve always been against a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme — because it harms our economy without necessarily helping the environment.”
Abbott’s two-day trip to Ottawa was his first since becoming prime minister and it quickly became evident he is on the same political page as Harper.
They are both conservative politicians who espouse the need to balance the budget, cut taxes, and focus on international trade.
Just as Harper once turned to former Australian prime John Howard for political guidance, Abbott is now turning to his Canadian counterpart as a model.
2) Australia, Canada To ‘Forge Alliance’ To Counter Obama’s Green Agenda
International Business Times, 10 June 2014
Reissa Su
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seeking an alliance among “like-minded” nations to thwart efforts to introduce carbon pricing and American President Barack Obama’s move to push climate change through global forums like G20.
Abbott, who is visiting Canada for talks with the country’s prime minister and his close friend Stephen Harper, said efforts are underway to form a new “center-right” alliance under the leadership of Canada, UK, Australia, India and New Zealand.
According to reports, the five Commonwealth nations have “center-right” leaning governments but the closeness between Harper and Abbott is being regarded as the most significant alliance. The combination will attempt to move the pace of climate change action via policies like emissions trading or carbon tax.
Reports said the alliance is a “calculated attempt” to push back on what both Mr Abbott and Mr Harper sees as a “left-liberal agenda” to raise taxes and “unwise” plans to address the issue of global warming.
But Abbott said in a media conference that he thought climate change is a significant problem. But it’s not the “only problem” the world faces. He said the problem remains significant and countries should act based on what they think is best to reduce carbon emissions.
The prime minister said he was “encouraged” that Obama is looking at what he regards as a direct action measure to curb emissions and found it similar to what he proposes in Australia.
He said policies to address climate change should not hurt the economy. Harper agreed with the statement and said they want to deal with climate change “in a way that enhances our ability to create jobs and growth.”
Both leaders may not yield to pressure from the U.S. should Mr Obama revive the issue of climate change ahead of the annual climate summit.
In the previous week, Obama had flagged regulatory changes to influence U.S. states to address global warming by adopting “aggressive market interventions.” as decided to take climate change off G20 agenda. In December, Australia became the chair of G20, which is a group composed of 20 countries having the biggest economies in the world.
3) Britain Should Join Commonwealth Alliance Against ‘Unhealthy’ Climate Policy, Says Australian PM
The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2014
Jonathan Pearlman
Tony Abbott pushes for “conservative alliance” between Britain, Australia, Canada and India to limit “unwise” climate change action and resist carbon pricing
Mr Abbott called for limited action on climate change that would not ‘clobber the economy’ Photo: Cole Burston/AFP
“Like-minded” countries such as Britain, Canada and India should form a conservative alliance with Australia to limit action on climate change and to prevent the introduction of carbon pricing, the country’s prime minister Tony Abbott has said.
Seeking to counter Barack Obama’s efforts for international action to reduce carbon emissions, Mr Abbott has reportedly sought to create a “combined front” with fellow Commonwealth nations that have conservative governments.
During a visit to Canada, Mr Abbott called for limited action on climate change that would not “clobber the economy”.
Like Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper, who withdrew his nation from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, Mr Abbott has dismantled his predecessor’s policies and moved to repeal Australia’s carbon tax. He is regarded as a climate change sceptic and once referred to global warming science as “absolute crap”, a comment which he later retracted.
Full story
4) Obama’s Climate Plan Faces Years Of Legal Challenges
The Hill, 8 June 2014
Laura Barron-Lopez
A key concession touted by vulnerable Democrats in the administration’s new carbon pollution standards may provide the greatest legal threat to the controversial new rules, the cornerstone of President Obama’s climate change agenda.
The administration is giving states broad flexibility on how they meet Environmental Protection Agency targets for existing power plants to reduce their carbon emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
Under the rules, states may take actions to reduce pollution that aren’t directly related to power plant emissions. A state could avoid retiring a power plant by investing in cleaner technology, push energy efficiency programs that will cut demand, or invest in wind and solar, according to the EPA.
That latitude marks an unprecedented move by the agency, which typically specifies methods of reducing emissions solely for power plants.
“We gave every state the opportunity to say where they wanted investments to happen,” said EPA chief Gina McCarthy said in an interview with PBS after unveiling the proposal. “Some of them will invest in their coal units, they will get them more efficient and they will stay for a long time.”
Red-state Democrats have generally been critical of the overall climate rule, but see the flexibility option as a benefit for energy industries, allowing each state to choose a method that reflects its priorities.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who faces a tough reelection battle this year, called the flexibility approach a “wise” decision by the EPA.
Legal observers, though, aren’t sure the EPA’s maneuver will pass muster in the courts.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has the power to mandate states apply “the best system of emissions reductions,” to existing power plants.
Critics say the EPA is now using a definition of “best system” that is too broad. Traditionally, the agency used “best system” to refer to specific technologies or practices to reduce pollution from plants.
Now the EPA is defining “best system” to include other flexible options states can use, including cleaner, renewable energy sources to meet the agency’s reduction targets.
A top agency official said the EPA is not bending the Clean Air Act, it is simply changing the pollutant it applies to it, and looking beyond carbon technology for ways to reduce power sector emissions.
The EPA official acknowledged that it was a completely new approach, but said the agency considered the legal implications surrounding it before proposing the rule. The official said EPA wouldn’t have issued the rule if they didn’t think it would be upheld.
But many legal experts, and even Obama’s top climate adviser, John Podesta, expect challenges, putting the future of the rules in the hands of the courts once it’s finalized.
5) EU Remains Divided Over Proposed CO2 Targets
Responding to Climate Change, 7 June 2014
Sophie Yeo
Poland remains opposed to new goals, saying it would leave poorer nations compensating for over-ambition
An internal dispute over the fairness of the EU’s new climate policies is continuing to divide nations, five months before the bloc’s new greenhouse gas reductions target must be finalised.
Both the European Commission and Parliament support a 40% target on 1990 levels, but it must be approved by Council before becoming law. This decision is due in October.
But according to Marcin Korolec, Poland’s State Secretary for Environment, this target will unfairly penalise Europe’s poorer nations in eastern and central Europe, who will struggle to cope with the west’s level of ambition.
“Europe needs first a fair and frank – particularly frank – discussion,” he told RTCC in an interview in Bonn. “Until now, there has been an approach that some have an ambition and some others have to deliver.”
He said that Poland, which is the second largest coal producer in Europe, remains opposed to a 40% target. The goal, he said, should be based upon the individual “readiness” of countries across the 28-state bloc.
6) And Finally: British Banana Republic
Bishop Hill, 10 June 2014
Andrew Montford
More evidence is emerging of Britain’s decline into banana republic status, driven by the politicial establishment’s eccentric attachment to all things green.
Britain may be forced to use “last resort” measures to avert blackouts in coming winters, Ed Davey, the energy secretary, will say on Tuesday.
Factories will be paid to switch off at times of peak demand in order to keep households’ lights on, if Britain’s dwindling power plants are unable to provide enough electricity, under the backstop measures from National Grid.
I am in awe of Mr Davey, who is trying to spin this as an opportunity for businesses:
He told the Telegraph businesses were “delighted” to get paid to reduce demand. Some would not actually “switch off” and would instead fire up their own on-site generators to replace grid supplies. Others, such as large-scale refrigeration firms, could temporarily cut power without any negative effects.
Of course the reason they are “delighted” is that they are going to be paid a great deal of money for switching off and using their own generators. The fact that this is going to cost consumers a great deal of money and increase carbon emissions to boot is, of course, not worthy of a mention.
