Who said this about Climate Change and carbon emissions pollution reduction?

“First, let’s get this straight. You cannot cut emissions without a cost. To replace dirty coal fired power stations with cleaner gas fired ones, or renewables like wind, let alone nuclear power or even coal fired power with carbon capture and storage, is all going to cost money.”

“To get farmers to change the way they manage their land, or plant trees and vegetation all costs money. Somebody has to pay. So any suggestion that you can dramatically cut emissions without any cost is, to use a favourite term of Mr. Abbott, `bullshit’. Moreover, he knows it.”

“It is not possible to criticise the new Coalition policy on climate change because it does not exist. Mr. Abbott apparently knows what he is against, but not what he is for.”

“…the fact is that Tony and the people who put him in his job, do not want to do anything about climate change. They do not believe in human caused global warming. As Tony observed on one occasion “climate change is crap” or if you consider his mentor, Senator Minchin, the world is not warming, it’s cooling and the climate change issue is part of a vast left wing conspiracy to deindustrialise the world.”

“Now politics is about conviction and a commitment to carry out those convictions. The Liberal Party is currently led by people whose conviction on climate change is that it is “crap” and you don’t need to do anything about it.”

“Any policy that is announced will simply be a con, an environmental fig-leaf to cover a determination to do nothing. After all, as Nick Minchin observed, in his view the majority of the Party Room do not believe in human caused global warming at all.”

“…we have an Opposition Leader who has in the space of a few months held every possible position on the issue, each one contradicting the position he expressed earlier”.

You probably guessed right… It was the Liberal federal Shadow Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull. (Samantha Maiden, The Australian, 7 December 2009)

“Many Liberals are rightly dismayed that on this vital issue of climate change we are not simply without a policy, without any prospect of having a credible policy but we are now without integrity. We have given our opponents the irrefutable, undeniable evidence that we cannot be trusted,” Turnbull said.

And who was also reported in the Australian, on 7 December 2009, as attacking Tony Abbott’s Direct Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, in a Shadow Cabinet meeting, warning it would cost tax-payers over $50 billion…. Liberal Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey.

The Liberal Party leadership don’t believe that humans have caused the change in climate that has seen records tumble with super-heatwaves, super-storms, and many more floods and bush-fires. They profess the so-called Direct Action plan, that Turnbull and Hockey derided, to replace the Carbon Price. But does anyone believe that Tony ‘climate change is crap’ Abbott would implement any effective carbon pollution reduction plan… Hardly.

The rest of the world, including even China, are slowly changing their economies to reduce carbon pollution, while taking opportunities to retool industry for a new more competitive, energy efficient world. An Australia, under Abbott, would see us continue as the the world’s highest per capita carbon polluter, with an old-world high energy, low efficiency, and less competitive economy.

Check out Chief Political Correspondent, Lenore Taylor’s Sydney Morning Herald piece on the effectiveness of the Carbon Price:
• Carbon tax contributes to emissions drop (SMH, 18 October 2012)

Is there any chance the Australian Liberal Party will ever come to terms with “Climate Change” or are they destined to remain “climate change deniers” until we’re cooked?

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