Creating a climate of convenience: Australia's response to global climate change (1996-2007)

Energy and Environment

Volumn 19, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 3-20

  Stevenson, Hayley ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CLIMATE CONTROL; CLIMATOLOGY; PUBLIC POLICY;

AUSTRALIA; CORRESPONDING SOLUTIONS; GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES; ISSUE FRAMING; MULTI DIMENSIONAL; POLITICAL AGENDA;

CLIMATE CHANGE;

CLIMATE CHANGE; CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK; DECISION MAKING; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE; NATURE-SOCIETY RELATIONS;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA;

EID: 47349127662     PISSN: 0958305X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1260/095830508783563091     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Under the leadership of John Howard, the Coalition governed Australia from March 1996 until November 2007. Their recent electoral defeat brought the Labor Party to power under the leadership of Kevin Rudd.
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3. Ibid, p.52.
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6. Also see Maarten A. Hajer, The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995, pp15-17.
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12. Ibid, pp45-46.
13. Matthew A. Crenson, The Un-Politics of Air Pollution: A study of non-decisionmaking in the cities, The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1971, pp177-178
14. The term "climate change" will be used throughout to refer to global anthropogenic climate change.
15. As early as 1979 scientists were voicing concern that the accumulation of greenhouse gases would be likely to have a dangerous warming effect, it was not until 1988 that climate change became a political issue. Newell offers a useful overview of the emergence of climate change as a political issue; see Peter Newell, Climate for Change: Non-state Actors and the Global Politics of the Greenhouse, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.52.
16. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 'Mandate and Membership of the IPCC', Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, < http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm> at August 2006. A list of the IPCC's publications is available online, IPCC , at September 2006.
17. Stewart Cohen, et al, 'Climate change and sustainable development: towards dialogue', p.361.
18. Ibid, p.361.
19. General Circulation Models (GCMs)
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21. Peter J. Taylor and Frederick H. Buttel, 'How do we Know we have Global Environmental Problems? Science and the Globalization of Environmental Discourse', p411.
22. Ibid, p.411.
23. Industrialised countries of the 'North' fall into this category.
24. Developing countries of the 'South' fall into this category.
25. Jyoti S. Kulkarni, 'A Southern Critique of the Globalist Assumptions About Technology Transfer in Climate Change Treaty Negotiations', Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 23(4) August 2003, p.256.
26. Peter J. Taylor and Frederick H. Buttel, 'How do we Know we have Global Environmental Problems?, p.411.
27. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a Framework Convention on Climate Change.
28. Aynsley Kellow, 'The political economy of FCCC: Who wins? Who loses?' Paper presented at 'Countdown to Kyoto': The Consequences of the Mandatory Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reductions, Australian APEC Study Centre, Canberra, 19-21 August 1997,
29. Ibid, p.6.
30. Larry Lohmann, 'Marketing and Making Carbon Dumps: Commodification, Calculation and Counterfactuals in Climate Change Mitigation', Science as Culture, 14(3), September 2005, p.205.
31. Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain, and Anju Sharma (eds), Green Politics, Global Environmental Negotiations, Vol.1, New Delhi, 1999, pp56-57.
32. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
33. Michael T. Hatch, 'The Politics of Global Warming in Germany', Environmental Politics, 4(3) Autumn 1995, pp415-416 and 420-421.
34. J. Tirkkonen, P. Tapio, and M. Wilenius, 'The development of climate discourse: Internationally, in Finland and in Finnish transport futures studies'. In J. Käyhkö and L. Talve (eds.) Understanding the global system: The Finnish perspective. FIGARE, Turku, 2002, pp193-199. Available online at: , at April 2007.
35. I am grateful to an anonymous reviewer of Energy & Environment for drawing my attention to the work of Michael Hatch.
36. Eivind Hovden and Gard Lindseth, 'Discourses in Norwegian Climate Policy: National Action or Thinking Globally?', Political Studies, 52(1) March 2004, p.64.
37. Please note that this study is part of my doctoral research for which a large number of documents have been analysed. Due to the present space restrictions, only a small selection of the documents analysed will be cited here. These citations, should therefore be considered examples only.
38. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 20 November 1997, 10921 (John Howard, Prime Minister) at August 2006.
39. Also see, Australia, Securing Australia's Energy Future, and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2004, , at August 2006.
40. See, for example, Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 22 September 1997, 6583 (Robert Hill, Minister for Environment) < http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au> at August 2006.
41. Bureau of Industry Economics, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Burden Sharing - An Analysis of Efficiency and Equity Issues for Australia, Research Report No. 66, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1995, p.21.
42. Ibid, p.91.
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44. According to a 2002 Senate Committee report, Australia's per capita transport emissions were the third highest in the world, following the US and Canada. See, Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, The Heat is On: Australia's Greenhouse Future, Report of the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, 2002, , at August 2006.
45. Clive Hamilton, 'Common Misconceptions in the Climate Change Debate', Background Paper No. 20, Submission to Senate Environment References Committee Inquiry into Australia's Response to Global Warming, November 1999, The Australia Institute, , pp5-6.
46. Clive Hamilton, Running from the Storm: The development of climate change policy in Australia, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2001, p.18.
47. Clive Hamilton, Running from the Storm: The development of climate change policy in Australia, p.57.
48. Ibid, pp55-62.
49. For the most recent example, see John Howard, 'Labor Carbon Tax Plan', Prime Minister Media Releases, 17 August 2006, Prime Minister John Howard, , at August 2006.
50. For the most recent statement, see, Sen. Ian Campbell, 'Greenhouse Accounts show Australia is still on target for 108 per cent', Media Release, 23 May 2006, Minister for Environment and Heritage, , at October 2006.
51. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 29 November 2005, 28, (Greg Hunt, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage),
52. Securing Australia's Energy Future, p.24.
53. Paul Kay, 'Terms and Impacts of the Kyoto Protocol', Current Issues Brief 10: 1997-98, Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group, 9 March 1998, Parliamentary Library, , at April 2007.
54. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, Article 3.7, United Nations, 1998, UNFCCC, < http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf>, at October 2006.
55. For a detailed explanation of the 'Australia clause' see Clive Hamilton and Lins Vellen, 'Land-use change in Australia and the Kyoto Protocol', Environmental Science & Policy, 2(2) May 1999, pp145-152
56. Paul Kay, 'Terms and Impacts of the Kyoto Protocol'.
57. Ibid.
58. Andrew Macintosh, 'The National Greenhouse Accounts and Land Clearing: Do the numbers stack up?' The Australia Institute, Research Paper No. 38, January 2007, , at April 2007, p.1.
59. Australian Greenhouse Office, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2004, Department of the Environment and Heritage, May 2006, < http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/inventory/2004/pubs/inventory2004.pdf gt;, at August 2006, p.4.
60. Andrew Macintosh, 'The National Greenhouse Accounts and Land Clearing: Do the numbers stack up?' pp1-3.
61. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 29 November 2005, 28, (Greg Hunt, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage).
62. John Howard, 'Transcript of the Prime Minister', Press Conference, Parliament House, Canberra, 11 December 1997, Prime Minister John Howard,
63. United Nations, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992, , at August 2006, p.5.
64. See, for example, Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 23 October 1997, 9699 (Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs) at August 2006.
65. See, for example, Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 30 November 2005, 102, (Santo Santoro, Senator) < http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au> at August 2006.
66. Sen. Ian Campbell, 'Transcript: Kyoto is not the solution', 1 November 2005, Minister for Environment and Heritage, , at October 2006.
67. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 2 October 1997, 9097, (John Howard, Prime Minister) at October 2006.
68. For emissions data see Securing Australia's Energy Future, p.24.
69. Kevin Baumert and Jonathan Pershing, 'Climate Data: Insights and Observations' Pew Center on Global Climate Change, November 2004, at August 2006, p.10.
70. See, for example, Ian Macfarlane, 'Australian Projects Ready to Roll Under New Climate Pact', Media Release, 29 July 2005, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, at August 2006.
71. See, for example, Alexander Downer, 'Interview Transcript: The Today Program', 28 July 2005, Minister for Foreign Affairs, < http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/transcripts/2005/ 050728_bbc.html> at August 2006.
72. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 17 August 2006, 83, (Ian Campbell, Minister for Environment and Heritage) at October 2006.
73. Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 12 September 2006, 30, (Ian Campbell, Minister for Environment and Heritage) at October 2006.
74. Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, 'Communiqué', Inaugural Ministerial Meeting, Sydney, January 2006, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at June 2006.
75. Mark Diesendorf, 'Is 'Clean Coal' an Oxymoron?'. Paper presented at the In Search Of Sustainability online conference, February - November 2003, In Search Of Sustainability online conference, , at August 2006.
76. See, for example, Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 17 August 2006, 144 (Gregory Hunt, MP Flinders) < http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au> at August 2006.
77. Ted Trainer, Towards a Sustainable Economy: The need for fundamental change, Environbook, Sydney, 1996, p.6.
78. See, also, Joseph Wayne Smith, Graham Lyons, and Gary Sauer-Thompson, The Bankruptcy of Economics: Ecology, Economics and the Sustainability of the Earth, Macmillan Press Ltd. London, 1999.
79. Richard Douthwaite, The Growth Illusion: How economic growth has enriched the few, impoverished the many and endangered the planet, Revised edition, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island B.C. 1999, pp9-10.
80. John Bellamy Foster, 'Capitalism's Environmental Crisis - Is Technology the Answer?' Monthly Review, 52(7) December 2000, p.3.
81. Steve Vanderheiden, 'Climate Change, Environmental Rights, and Emissions Shares', Paper presented at the 2006 Western Political Science Association meeting, 16-18 March, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Available online at International Political Theory, , at August 2006, p.2.
82. Figures according to Vaclav Smil, 'Energy Consumption in Affluent Countries', paper presented at International Conference on Science and Technology for Sustainability, Tokyo, 16-19 December 2003, Science Council of Japan, at August 2006.
83. Friends of the Earth International, 'Climate debt: Making historical responsibility part of the solution', December 2005, Friends of the Earth International, , at August 2006, p.5.
84. For a complete list of the coalition members and the Climate Justice principles see International Climate Justice Network, 'Bali Principles of Climate Justice', August 2002, India Resource Centre, < http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/energycc/2003/ baliprinciples.html> at October 2006.
85. Ibid.
86. See, also, Friends of the Earth Australia, 'Climate Justice in Action', Friends of the Earth Australia, at October 2006.
87. Friends of the Earth International, 'Climate debt: Making historical responsibility part of the solution', p.2.
88. Duncan McLaren, 'Environmental Space, Equity and the Ecological Debt', in Julian Agyeman, Robert D Bullard, and Bob Evans (eds) Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 2004, p.22.
89. Tim Jackson and Laurie Michaelis, 'Policies for Sustainable Consumption: a report to the Sustainable Development Commission', 2003, Sustainable Development Commission, at August 2006, p.17.
90. Kersty Hobson, 'Consumption, Environmental Sustainability and Human Geography in Australia: A Missing Research Agenda?', Australian Geographical Studies, 41(2) July 2003, p.149.