pathetic

Thanks to Matt Canavan for drawing our attention to the climate debate (“Nationals reignite Coalition climate war”, April 27). How could we forget Australia’s dismal performance at last year’s COP 26? Our country ranked last out of 193 UN member states for climate action in 2021’s Sustainable Development Report. Now the government is once again under pressure from the Nationals to sideline Australia’s emissions targets. Scott Morrison will need a lot of wallpaper and glue to paper over the cracks in the federal Coalition on climate policy. But first, a large amount of gap-filler will be required. A quick trip to Bunnings may be in order. Anne O’Hara, Wanniassa (ACT)

It is totally disingenuous for Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to claim that the government’s agreement with the National Party for a policy to achieve net zero by 2050 is “not negotiable” (“‘That debate has been done’: Morrison insists no change to net zero pledge”, smh.com.au, April 27). He has Canavan saying “the policy is dead” and National’s candidate for Flynn, Colin Boyce saying “it’s non binding and flexible”. What is clear is that a vote for the Coalition locks in the climate change opponents and sceptics of the National Party and the heavy fossil fuel polluters will continue unabated, with no reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Mark Berg, Caringbah South

Canavan and other Nationals have let the cat out of the bag. There is no Coalition plan to reach net zero by 2050. It’s fossil industry business as usual for them. Which means swinging voters concerned about their children and grandchildren’s futures do not have the Coalition as a viable choice. They must vote for other candidates who have truly pledged to try to save the planet. Otherwise, they must bear some of the responsibility for our demise. Howard Charles, Annandale

Canavan and other Coalition politicians now tell us that even their pathetic net-zero concession is negotiable, with plenty of “wiggle room” and that support for net zero “has absolutely gone”. Don’t they realise that they are not just denying climate change – words that might have become so cliched they have lost their impact – but they are actually denying future generations, and possibly even themselves, a safe future and habitable planet? For the party that claims to be good at defending Australians, they are recklessly exposing all of us to existential risk. Rob Firth, Cremorne Point

Anthony Albanese’s dismissal of a carbon tax and turmoil within the Coalition over net zero is preventing sensible policy being adopted on either side. Even though any reduction in CO2 in Australia won’t “move the needle” globally, as a prosperous nation, we need to provide a pricing mechanism to allow industries to adapt to a low carbon environment. Irrespective of whether a trading system similar to Europe is adopted or a simple flat carbon tax is applied, it is time our economy has a cost for greenhouse gas emissions. John Kempler, Rose Bay

Those climate change-denying Nationals obviously don’t live in rural areas where fires, floods and the resultant social chaos are the new normal. Greg Thompson, Bega

READ MORE:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/canavan-s-defiance-a-reminder-of-coalition-s-climate-failures-20220427-p5agfc.html

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