"The largest turnarounds in carbon productivity are required by Australia, Turkey, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The longer these countries take to achieve these turnarounds, the more costly the eventual transition will be.''
Vivid Economics report, as seen in The Age
Australia has come out the worst placed of the G20 nations to be able to compete economically in a greener world. There is so much change required, and we are a terribly conservative country in many respects. We are so ridiculously over-bureaucratised. The status quo tends to win when innovation is stymied by the 38,692 things you need to do to keep the red tapers happy in the federal government, the state government, the local government.
We are in love with our recovering economy, our coal-based electricity, our aluminium exports. Carbon, yum yum. It would be ironic if it was the conservatism brought about by our wealth that is the cause of our slowness to act, when the very act of changing slowly will determine that we are less wealthy the slower we are to act. Countries like France, Mexico and Argentina are leading the way, and we need to start taking leaves out of their books. Their fast acting will pressure is to change whether we want to or not. This is where competition is a good thing.
Interesting report, Sue, thanks, and this has changed slightly my perception of your country which I hadn't previously realised with so conservative.
ReplyDelete(I also confess to breathing a sigh of relief and thinking "at least there's something bloody Britain doesn't come last in.")
Tess - we are conservative in certain ways, certainly. It's a real pain in the bum, just a heaviness in some ways.
ReplyDeleteBritain is actually one of the most well placed G20 countries to "capitalise on a global carbon price" whatever that means. But there you go. Whatever it is, you're well placed to do it :)