Nationals’ senator short-sighted on aid to combat climate change

World Vision CEO Tim Costello said Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan and other G20 finance ministers meeting in London tomorrow must ignore the National Party’s smug and myopic approach to dealing with climate change. 

He said finance for the poorest developing nations to adapt to climate change and low carbon growth is vital in securing a global deal at Copenhagen. 

Nationals’ senator Ron Boswell is reported in The Australian Financial Review today saying Australia should not provide financial assistance to developing countries for the impacts of climate change. 

“As Professor Ross Garnaut said, climate change is a ‘diabolical problem’ that we cannot solve with each country acting in short-term self-interest and expecting to benefit from a free ride by the rest of the world,” Mr Costello said. 

“We can begin to pay our fair share in the short term to help these nations develop sustainably or we will all pay the costs of massive humanitarian disasters and economic hardships – both in Australia and in our neighbourhood as devastating impacts unfold on the coming generation. 

“Strong emissions reductions by the developed world are essential but not enough. We also need developing nations to curb the growth of their emissions, and for that they need help with finance and new technology. 

Unless an effective global deal is reached, the most widely accepted scientific assessments suggest that Australia – and especially rural Australia – will be among the worst affected regions of the world within decades. The Garnaut Review found that the value of irrigated agricultural production in the Murray Darling Basin would be cut by between 49 and 72 per cent by 2050, and by more than 90 per cent by 2100. 

“The Nationals’ leaders are ignoring the science and the interests of their constituents for the sake of short-term political opportunism. This is an issue of generational equity. It is about the future of our children and their children. And each member of Parliament must bring their conscience to this issue rather than self-serving rhetoric.” 

World Vision works in some of the world’s poorest communities, who often live in circumstances vulnerable to drought and floods, and who will struggle to cope with the devastating consequences of climate change if greenhouse gas levels increase unabated. 

Tim Costello is available for comment.

Contact Bill Pheasant 0413 701 028