Rudd & Co make tiny commitment to emissions reduction

Reality bites, as Rudd and Wong announce only a 5% cut in emissions by 2020, which could increase to 15% if there is a global agreement to reduce emissions further. And that's a big "if", judging by the results at Poznan. The Greens are livid, of course, which kind of indicates that Rudd is on the right track...

"Australia's commitment of a 5 -15 per cent reduction by 2020 is a serious and credible commitment to the global action required and is realistically attainable in the current circumstances," the white paper says.

It's not a serious and credible commitment at all - it's a pointless gesture, when what was needed was no gesture at all. In truth, a 5% cut in Australian emissions will do nothing (since a 100% cut in emissions would do nothing as well), and may still cause some unnecessary damage to our already weakened economy, but at least they haven't swallowed the Green agenda whole.

There's little chance of a global agreement in Copenhagen, especially with China building two new coal-fired power stations each week, and by that time it is at least possible that the AGW bandwagon will be seriously derailed by continuing global cooling. Here's hoping.

Read it here.