Page 177 - HỘI THẢO KHOA HOC 18.5.2022

As a result of the conflict between the dominant fossil fuel sector and a series of catastrophic
disasters, climate change has made its way to the core of the Australian political landscape. On a
per-capita basis, the country is one of the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gases, and it is the
world’s third-largest exporter of fossil fuels, trailing only Russia and Saudi Arabia. Mining has
been a major driving force in Australia’s economy since the British founded the country in the

early 1800s, but coal production increased significantly after World War II. Coal production
increased significantly after World War II and continues to be an important employer in many
rural communities throughout Australia.
Australia was criticised in Glasgow for not signing onto accords like the so-called Worldwide
Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement sponsored by the United Kingdom or the global

methane pledge, which the United States spearheaded to reduce methane emissions.
In an email sent from Sydney shortly after the conference, the Morrison government “took an

embarrassment, was inadequate, and was outrageously insufficient” while the climate problem
escalated. It was the type of half-measure that climate campaigners feared would be carried over
to the COP26 meeting, which took place recently in Glasgow as part of the United Nations climate
negotiations. They claimed that it did.
“Australia’s goal for COP26 was to get away with as much as possible. “Our goal is to do as

little as possible,” said Richie Merzian, who formerly worked for the Australian government as a
climate change negotiator for a decade before joining The Australia Institute, an independent
public policy think tank, as the climate and energy programme director.”

Australia, affectionately known as the sunburned nation because of its huge areas of an arid
and desolate landscape, has long been criticised for being one of the world’s leading suppliers of
coal and natural gas, and it just avoided being dubbed as the summit’s villain by the media. During
the last hours of the meeting, coal power became a major source of dispute when delegates from
China and India insisted on toning down the final text of the COP26 agreement and substituting a
pledge to “phase out” coal with the phrase “phase down.”

Morrison also restated his country’s commitment to coal power in the aftermath of the summit,
stating the coal sector will continue to operate in Australia for “decades to come,” despite British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s claim that Glasgow had essentially “sounded the death knell” for
coal power.

Australia’s failure to act on climate change sets a negative example for other countries,
according to Merzian, “instead of pushing ambition like the United States and the United
Kingdom.” According to him, other laggards like Russia and Turkey benefit from Australia’s
apathy because they can point to the nation and say, “Look, if a wealthy industrialised country like
Australia isn’t doing more in the near term, why should I?”

Morrison has been trapped in a political bind on the issue of climate change for quite some
time.

A staunch backer of the coal industry, the National Party, is the government’s coalition partner
and has attempted to prevent the net-zero aim on several occasions, citing possible hazards to the
country’s economy. Morrison is a well-known supporter of the industry in his own right. In 2017,

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