THE Australian Government has committed itself to an emissions trading scheme (known as ‘cap and trade’ in the US) in its fight against climate change.
The legislation passed the lower house last week but is expecting to be defeated in the Senate on June 15th. The government, however, is likely to take the legislation back to the Senate in late September or October and has threatened a double dissolution if it doesn’t get its way. This could mean an election with a focus on the issue of climate change.
A few independents hold the balance of power in the Senate and the government has said it is keen to negotiate with them. Just last week one independent Senator, Steve Fielding, indicated that there had so far been no debate on the science of climate change in Australia.
In today’s ‘The Australian’ newspaper he has repeated this concern that there has been no debate on this important issue and says he is keen to talk with the Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, about the science.
[Read more…] about Fielding the Hard Questions on Climate Change
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.