Julie Bishop signs Second Because the Ocean Declaration

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop sure has the gift of the gab with fine rhetorical statements on Australia’s strong targets (ahem), that presently commits the world to 4 degrees C or more of warming.

I caught up with her on Monday night of the second week of COP22 in a high level event at the French Pavillion. She was there with several other ministers to sign the second ‘Because the Ocean declaration’ to improve ocean and reef conservation efforts as part of the UNFCCC climate change process. (See details on signing the First Declaration in Paris at COP21 here)

She highlighted the Australian Government’s 2015 Reef 2050 plan, and $2 billion over 10 years to reduce water pollution affecting the Great Barrier Reef at both this event and later in her ministerial statement to COP.

Australia joins Coalition of High Ambition at COP21 as announced on twitter

On Friday afternoon with the talks drawing to a close I attended a press conference called by the Marshall Islands. It featured Tony DeBrum, the Marshall Islands Foreign Minister, as well as several ministers in the Coalition of Ambition here at the Conference of Parties.

This new grouping is not a negotiating bloc, but a coalition of parties that want to emphasise and push for much higher ambition at these talks.

Tony De Brum said "You've read things in the media. We want you to hear from us directly. The High Ambition Coalition is emerging as a result of collective efforts of developed and developing countries."

Australia's #climate stance for Paris #COP21

It seems that Australia has flexibility in negotiating for a global climate agreement in Paris. Minister Hunt even expressed that there is some room for Australia to lift it's targets, after a review, through purchase of carbon credits. But it appears there is no extra funding to the Green Climate Fund on the table.

Australia as a mid-level power carries some influence at sensitive negotiations such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annual summit, called the Conference of Parties or simply COP. This year in Paris is the 21st year of negotiations, hence COP21.

Tom Arup in The Age has a good summary of the Australian political negotiating position on climate, writing that Australia's "team now has a negotiating mandate approved by cabinet. It is understood to be flexible and allows Australia to sign up to a strong agreement, including one with lofty language about the long-term ambition of the agreement."

Can a leopard change it's spots? Australia's schizophrenic #climate diplomacy

This article originally appeared at nofibs.com.au


It seems Ministers from 62 nations were won over by Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt's charm at Precop with applause being delivered to speeches from Ministers from both Australia and Canada. (see my article on the Paris Precop ministerial meeting)

Australia is being seen as back on side diplomatically on the climate issue, especially after Hunt was a important broker in a deal phasing down HFC emissions in the Montreal Protocol update last week.

Europe Diary: Halloween heat in UK, France on the road to #Paris2015 #Cop21 #climate talks

This article appeared originally at nofibs.com.au.

I have been travelling in England and Europe for 6 weeks now. It is supposed to be Autumn going into Winter, yet there is still plenty of warmth despite the shorter days. Other than a few days of rain, it has been remarkably fine: T-shirt and shorts weather, although a jacket is sometimes needed for chilly evenings.

Even in Switzerland I was wearing T-shirts and shorts, only pulling on a warm jacket for the journey to the top of Mount Titlis at over 3000 metres altitude in the European Alps.

I realize with my full bag I have probably brought far too many warm weather clothes expecting much cooler Autumn and Winter temperatures. Or maybe it is that bottle of Limoncello from Sorrento weighting my bag down.

No change in Australian #climate policy with new PM Turnbull

This week Australia watched as the Liberal Party changed the Prime Minister, deposing Tony Abbott in a 54-44 party room vote and reinstating Malcolm Turnbull to the position of party leader and now Prime Minister. The change follows succeeding worsening polls for the Government.

Sunday afternoon Canberra was abuzz with rumours of a leadership challenge in the Liberal Party. Even though the Canning byelection is in progess, this is a sitting week in Canberra when politicians were available for a party room meeting. The #Libspill quickly came to fruition on Monday night in the Liberal party room meeting.

This is the third Prime Minister in 5 years who has been deposed in a party room ballot. Kevin Rudd was deposed by Julia Guillard in 2010, who then went on to form a minority government after a general election with the support of Independent MPs. With polls souring, Guillard was deposed by Rudd near the end of her term in 2013, with Tony Abbott then becoming Prime Minister after the Liberal National Parties won a majority of seats in the general election.

Now it was Abbott's turn to be deposed after serving less than 2 years as Prime Minister and numerous gaffes in government. The most recent gaffe was a laughing response to a joke in bad taste made by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on rising sea levels and Pacific nations.

Australian Government funds $4 million sweet deal for #climate contrarian Bjorn Lomborg

This sweet deal for statistician and climate contrarian Bjorn Limborg is likely to really piss off Australian climate scientists.

With one fell swoop the Government has alienated climate scientists, and probably a heavy proportion of other academics and the general public. The Abbott Government is funding climate contrarian Dr Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish Professor of Statistics, to establish a 'Consensus Centre' at the University of Western Australia at a taxpayer funded cost of $4 million for a four year period, at a time when the Treasurer is arguing we need budget constraint.

Of course most Australian climate scientists were probably already not very sympathetic to the Abbott Government with the failure to appoint a Science Minister, axing the Climate Commission (a budget saving of just $1.5 million), and cuts to science and research funding.

It has been clear for many years that 97% of research papers say climate change is happening, and while Lomborg does not directly deny anthropogenic climate change he casts doubt on climate impacts, often cherry picks his data selectively, makes straw man arguments, and runs cost benefit models to argue for delaying climate mitigation action.

Julie Bishop evades on climate change as a risk to security at Obama #SOTU speech

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is in Washington for a series of meetings on security and terrorism. But equating Climate Change as a security threat? That is a question to be evaded and instead put out some untruthful spin on the Government's climate change 'good story'.

Bishop was invited to attend President Obama's 2015 State of the Union address by House of Representatives speaker John Boehner.

11.10pm doorstop for @JulieBishopMP in DC after attending #SOTU pic.twitter.com/Lr1ttbqvCK

— Lisa Millar (@LisaMillar) January 21, 2015

In his 6th State of the Union Speech to the Republican controlled Congress, Obama continued his strong stance on tackling climate change. This is the excerpt on climate change from the full transcript of the prepared speech available from CNN.

Australian emissions set to soar: new report shows carbontax was working

Largest drop in Australia's emissions with carbon tax, new figures from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reveal, as emissions from electricity generation start to trend up. Article originally published at Nofibs

Just two days before Christmas Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt released the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory June quarter update report which shows that Labor's Carbon pricing, abolished in July 2014, was being highly effective at reducing emissions, especially from the electricity generating sector.

The Abbott Government wants to bury this story, hence it's release right before Christmas. Carbon tax abolition was, after all, Prime Minister Tony Abbott's greatest achievement as Minister for Women, as we were told.

Despite the timing, there was mainstream coverage by the Sydney Morning Herald and in the Guardian, but the details are easily forgotten in the pre-christmas activity and celebrations by most people.

Opinion: Tony Abbott's Direct Action climate policy not enough

The Latest IPSOS poll by Fairfax in December 2014 shows that most people think Tony Abbott's Direct Action Climate Change Policy is not nearly sufficient action for Australia to play it's fair part in addressing global warming.

This comes as Tony Abbott has sent Trade minister Andrew Robb, a major climate denialist in the Federal Liberal Party, to attend the Lima COP20 climate talks to keep Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in check from committing Australia from increasing our committment as other nations start increasing their commitments.



See story by Mark Kenny: Fairfax Ipsos poll shows climate change concerns heating up around Tony Abbott (Brisbane Times 8 December 2014)

More to follow...

Australia's Foreign minister Julie Bishop shunned at UN climate summit

The original article was published at nofibs.com.au.

Australia's Foreign Affairs minister Julie Bishop took the podium at the United Nations Climate Summit to an almost empty plenary to announce that Australia was balancing economic growth with climate action, with a 5 per cent cut based on 2000 levels by 2020 using $2.55 billion to fund emission reductions under the Government's Direct Action Plan. (Read speech) Two photos tell the story of her address to this climate summit, of the vast gap between the government's rhetoric and actual action.

The first is the more flattering image the Abbott Government would prefer you to see tweeted by Australia's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations Gary Quinlan:



The second photo is a wide angle shot encompassing much of the plenary room and shows that most delegates and ministers were not present when Ms Bishop delivered her statement. While this does not in itself mean much, it is symptomatic of Australia being diplomatically shunned for it's retrograde steps on climate policy, including being the first country to abolish a carbon pricing scheme, and the snubbing of the summit by Prime Minister Tony Abbott who attended UN sessions discussing on terrorism the following day.

Australian Government in denial on proposals for climate action at UN Climate summit

The reason the Peoples Climate protest occurred is that there is a UN summit on climate change on 23 September called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to motivate more ambitious targets to be brought to the negotiating table. About 120 heads of state are attending, but not Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott who claims he needs to stay in Canberra an extra day, even though he is scheduled to be in New York for the UN General Assembly debate on the threat of terrorism the following day. What a lame excuse! In his place Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop is being sent.

Ms Bishop will be attending the climate summit as a "leaner" not a "lifter". Countries have been urged to bring along ambitious plans for emissions cuts to take the plans for an agreement in Paris forward, but Ms Bishop told the Sydney Morning Herald that Australia would only confirm a 5 per cent emissions cut on 2000 levels by 2020 and that it was "too early" for plans for deeper emissions cuts beyond Australia's existing policies. At a meeting in New York of the top 17 economies hosted by United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Bishop called this an "ambituous target".

What world are they living in?

Australia earns first rebuke by civil society at UN climate change talks

Australia had the dubious priveledge of earning the first Fossil of the Day award at the United Nations climate talks in Warsaw, Poland. Civil society organisations confer the awards each day of the climate talks, and have been doing so since 1999.

Related: The Verb - Australia won't be missed

The new Federal Government lead by Prime Minister Tony Abbott has in a few short weeks dismantled the Climate Change Department, closed the independent scientific panel the Climate Commission and set about undoing Australia's carbon pricing through preparing legislation to repeal the operation of the Climate Change Authority and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

But the award wasn't for all this political attack on climate change action at home in Australia. It was conferred because Australia will not be putting forward any new finance commitments at the Warsaw negotiations, beyond the Fast Start Finance commitments made by the former Labor Government.

Tony Abbott has confirmed that the Australian government would be making no further commitments of funding to the Green Climate Fund, setup by the UNFCCC climate talks to fund climate mitigation and adaptation programs in third world and developing countries. It was hoped that $100bn a year in public and private financing would be channeled to developing countries by 2020. The previous Labor government deposited $500,000 last year to help get the new fund established, as well as committing almost $600m to a "fast-start" fund.

A spokeperson for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the Guardian: "The Green Climate Fund is currently in the design phase and Australia will consider its longer term involvement in the fund once its design has been further progressed."