The Australian pavilion at COP26 in Glasgow has sadly got Scotty from marketing written all over it… Heavily promoting sponsors such as gas producer Santos, and unproven expensive pies in the sky like carbon capture storage as the way forward, it seems Canberra did not get the memo on the IPCC report being a Code Red Alert for humanity and every country needed to come to this shindig with serious commitments for emissions reductions generally and by 2030 in particular.
As we gazed upon this lacklustre offering, and spoke with the disillusioned Tunisians taking refuge there after a busy day, we felt only embarrassment about our country. No pride in its ability to rise to challenges and beat the odds (nothing about this); no reassurance that we face a positive way forward with our over abundance of renewable solar and wind energy (they did not even rate a mention); and no faith in our people to be part of the international solution to the existential problems the world faces…
I feel sure that if the federal government cannot get its head around these issues, our state and local governments, businesses and people will. The real pity is that the federal government could be wind in our sails to help as achieve our best, as fast as possible. I hope the good people of Australia realise this as we face the next election, and chose to put people in place who can realise these opportunities, before it is too late.
Late news - I hear parts of the pavilion have been removed after so many people expressed their disapproval… Will check this out today and report back :-)