Australia’s Leadership Needs to Step Up in Climate Change Policy
Late February brought some of the worst flooding on record to Eastern Australia. Heavy and sustained rainfall along the Australian east coast killed at least 22 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and cost the Australian government 2.5 billion US dollars.
Starting on February 26, the city of Brisbane recorded over 676.8 mm of rainfall that lasted 3 days, warranting the term “rain bomb” to be used when referencing this phenomenon. Along the coast, landscapes have been completely transformed with whole bridges and houses swallowed by water and livestock swept away in the flooding. The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has admitted that “Australia is getting harder to live in" due to this flooding.
Many scientists have credited this heavy rain to climate change as it amplifies the effects of the La Niña weather cycle. As the atmosphere gets warmer, it can hold more moisture which leads to more water falling to the surface and creating heavy rainfall akin to rain bombs. The effects of extreme weather events are compounding to create new risks and new pressures on the Australian government to respond to climate change.
A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes how Australia is at the “sharp end of climate change”. Low-lying areas in Australia are especially at risk, as homes, infrastructures, and whole ecosystems will be destroyed if rising sea levels are not addressed and adaptations are not implemented. The impacts of climate change on the environment are further worsened by pollution, invasive species, and man-made stresses. The most vulnerable ecosystems are the coral reefs, as the Great Barrier Reef is facing irreversible damage as warming causes coral bleaching and death.
According to climate change researchers, the Australian response to climate change is “mostly reactive” and is not adapting fast enough to keep pace with the increase in flooding. Climate change has been taboo in Australian politics, and politicians are hesitant to speak on the issue. Even though 74% of Australians agree that the benefits of taking action against climate change outweigh the costs, it has not been made a high-priority issue in the federal government. Now, the recent flooding has brought climate change back on the agenda as locals are faced with the consequences of not addressing the issue.
The devastating flooding in February ironically prefaces a new court ruling that the Australian government does not have a responsibility to protect young people from the effects of climate change. In 2020, a group of Australian teenagers took to court to convince the Environment Minister Sussan Ley to prevent the expansion of a mine in New South Wales. While the Minister did not grant this demand, the teenagers’ lawyers did succeed in evoking a ruling that Ley has a duty to prevent future harm to the environment from climate change. On Tuesday, this ruling was overturned.
This ruling is just one example of the refusal of many Australian politicians to accept their responsibility in preventing further damage to their people, property, and natural environment. Australia is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels and has some of the highest rates of emissions per person.
Australia’s performance at the COP26 climate summit reflected this hesitation in pursuing real climate change policy. Many critics view Australia’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2030 to be as strong as a “wet paper bag”, largely due to its massive exportation of fossil fuels. Australia’s continual commitment to the coal industry serves as a bad example, especially as it did not sign agreements pushed by the United States and the United Kingdom such as the “Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement”. Experts say that Australia’s historical political interest in the oil, gas, and coal industry is guiding its behaviour toward climate change policy and causing the country to come up short compared to global peers in climate talks.
The recent flooding coupled with the destructive wildfires in 2019 are a devastating sign that Australia needs to step up to create definitive commitments to addressing and mitigating the effects of climate change. A major issue lies within the refusal of central leadership to guide the private sector in pursuing green technologies. While individual businesses are attempting to convert to more progressive industry, they are receiving little help from the federal level. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to direct his government toward investment in the fossil fuel industry, allowing the fossil fuel lobby to maintain its powerful hold on Australian politics.
The prevalence of the fossil fuel industry has created an image of climate change policy as being “a cost, not an investment”. This is incredibly confusing to citizens, as they feel they are forced to choose between jobs and the environment. Scientists continue to press that green technology on its own cannot fight climate change; a combination of reduction targets, carbon taxes, and clean energy is necessary. The Morrison government’s refusal to pursue a holistic approach to climate change mitigation seems to suggest that the industrial actors who dominate domestic politics are a more powerful force than pleas from citizens to protect them from devastating floods and wildfires.
The Climate Change Performance Index report stated that “Australia has fallen behind its allies”. The loss and destruction from the recent flooding in Eastern Australia is a wake-up call to Australian leadership that they cannot continue to drag their feet in climate change policy. The loss of lives and property will only continue to increase as temperatures continue to rise and ecosystems suffer. Increased international pressure from the US and the UK have not seemed to be enough to overcome the influence of the fossil fuel industry in Australia. Private enterprises and industries are willing to make a change, now it is up to the Australian leadership to commit to a real investment in green technology and clean energy.
Image courtesy of Saeed Khan via Getty Images, ©2022, some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
