‘Fork in the road’ on climate change

#1123 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 2 September 2015.

Speaking from Alaska on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the world had reached a fork in the road on climate change, and, while he welcomed debate on mitigation strategies, the science on global warming is settled and the time to act is now.

Mr Obama said we were likely to see “more drought, more floods, rising sea levels, greater migration, more refugees, more scarcity, more conflict,” and he urged decisive global action to cut carbon emissions.

He said “Any so-called leader who does not take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke is not fit to lead.”

In Australia, the Abbott government is looking increasingly out of touch, having dumped the previous government’s carbon tax and unwound mechanisms for boosting renewable energy development.

Having reached a fork in the road, Mr Abbott appears to have taken the lonely road on climate change, committing Australia to one of the biggest gambles in our history.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.