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THEME

Reflections on Forty Years of Failed Australian Climate Policy

AUTHORS
Kate Assarian, Dugald Williamson, Hester J. Rook, Sarah Temporal, Debra Livingston, Alexander Forbes, David Ritter, Richard Hil, Sue Charlton, Xu Yi-chong, Patrick Weller, Claudia Baldwin, Kathryn English, Kadi Warner, Michael Buky, Bronwyn Stevens, Ian Lowe

VOLUME NO.
39 [2]

PUBLICATION DATE
2020

ABSTRACT

Forty years ago, I analysed Australia’s future energy alternatives in the very first issue of Social Alternatives (Lowe 1977). It then became clear that climate change was significant and would demand a new approach to energy supply and use (Lowe 1989). Vested interests and right-wing politicians have prolonged the fossil fuel industry, largely through carefully orchestrated misinformation, but rapid change is now evident. The 2019-20 bushfires demonstrated the scale of the threat to Australia. While an optimist might think that even Coalition governments will have to bow to the inevitable, the fixation with growth remains a fundamental obstacle.