Tony Abbott’s climate frolic is strange and sad – and all about politics

Katharine Murphy reports in The Guardian (10.10.17) on an address given by former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to a climate change sceptics’ organisation in London, which has attracted derision from all sides of the climate policy debate.

‘It would be tempting to laugh at Tony Abbott’s feelings about how carbon dioxide is secretly good for humanity, and his insights into the goat sacrificing habits of primitives subduing volcano gods – except it isn’t that funny.

‘The London outing is more strange and sad, and the strangeness and the sadness manifests itself on multiple fronts. Let’s start with strange.

‘The bloke who hobnobbed with the climate sceptics at Global Warming Policy Foundation is the same bloke who took a decision as prime minister to sign Australia up to the Paris international climate agreement.

‘He’s also the same bloke who produced a set of initiatives in government which was badged as a policy to incentivise emissions reductions. That policy still exists and it’s called Direct Action.

‘He’s also the same bloke who kept Australia’s renewable energy target, while abolishing the mechanism designed to give the market certainty to make future investments in baseload power generation.

‘Abbott has a whole lot of feelings, and some loyal media megaphones to help him spread his singular insights, but these are basic facts he can’t escape.’

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