An end of year message from the Greenpeace climate campaign team
As the dust settles after a fractious UN climate conference in Bali, and we drift into the long, hot, summer break, it’s time to thank all of you for playing your part in turning up the heat for climate change action during 2007, and to […]
In last year’s federal budget, over $10 billion of taxpayers’ money was used to subsidise the fossil fuel industry. The May budget will show whether the new government is serious about climate change action. Stay tuned for how you can get involved.
There are proposals to build new coal power stations in most states. Will the […]
By Charlotte Stemmer
I feel pretty sorry for whales. They have just spent winter on holiday in warm tropical waters where they sing their magical songs, attract a mate and then give birth to their young. Now they are blissfully swimming down towards the Antarctic on their long journey home, excited about the prospect of […]
Bula from Bali.
It is day 5 of the second week and the Bali Road Map is looking more and more like it is going to be “Road Kill” for the small Pacific Island Countries.
I’m writing this blog on a wireless connection. The entire Bali Conference Centre is “unwired”, including meeting rooms and cafes, and it’s extremely handy. As I’m writing this, I’m remembering one of my first trips to Bali 10 years ago, and how far communications technology has come in that decade. And I’m reflecting on […]
The news is out and the message is clear…Australians want Rudd to do more on the biggest issue facing our planet, and ratifying the Kyoto Protocol is not going to appease them.
Commissioned by Greenpeace a poll of 1202 adults showed that Australians want our new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to take the next steps in […]
Some of the very surreal aspects of the Bali Climate Change conference are the setting, the cast of players and how this contrasts with the gravity of the issues that we are here to deal with.
So here they are, 192 Countries. Over 12,000 delegates have come to influence the negotiations one way or another. It is right here, right now the negotiations that will be crucial to determining our future are being made.
After promising news yesterday that the Australian delegation in Bali was willing to back a mandate for deep emissions cuts of 25-40% for developed countries by 2020, new PM Kevin Rudd has now retreated from this position.
“[Nations] have … indicated that they do not necessarily accept those targets, nor do
they accept those targets as […]
So what happened? For one minute it looked like Australia was taking a progressive leadership role in the international climate debate. Leadership that is sorely missing here in Bali. We ratified Kyoto, took the standing ovation, created an expectation with the world that we were ready to take the leap into a decarbonised future.
To understand where we’re at here in Bali, and what role Australia is playing, we need to go back to last August, when countries met in Vienna to discuss climate change. They came up with a range for what greenhouse gas reduction targets industrialised countries like Australia should accept in Kyoto’s next commitment period that […]
The Greenpeace delegation is in full flight in Bali, and it feels great to be part of such a hard working and organised team. This morning at our team meeting, there was lots of debate about the emerging issue of “the Range”, (which is not a reference to a folk song from the United States). […]
Do Australians know that their taxes are being used to subsidise companies that cause climate change?
Ratifying Kyoto is the first step forward after 11 years of inaction on climate change under John Howard, but the real test for Rudd when he returns from Bali will be how to break Australia’s addiction to coal.
Next year’s budget […]
Whatever else happens here in Bali, an undoubted highlight will be the announcement by Australia that they will ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The incoming Rudd government richly deserved the applause that greeted that announcement.
Only days later, however, there are worrying signs here in Bali that while Kyoto will be ratified, the new government may disappoint […]
Just today, Kevin Rudd was officially sworn in as our new Prime Minister and yet his actions in the next fortnight will have lasting ramifications for the entire planet. And I thought my first day on the job was daunting.
The UN Climate Change talks have begun in Bali, setting the agenda for the next phase […]