High & dry

Description:

Guy Pearse's revelations about Australia's "greenhouse mafia" made headlines. (In High & Dry this Liberal Party insider shows why John Howard's climate change policy is reckless, how it came about, and who is behind it. Australia's climate is changing. Water shortage is chronic and irreversible, temperatures are rising, extreme weather events are more frequent, species are dying on land and at sea. The world's scientists agree that to avoid the worst environmental damage we must cut at least 60 per cent of global emissions by 2050. Instead, Australia is on track to increase emissions by 70 per cent over this period. Why is the Howard government acting so conspicuously against the world's interests, and against Australia's own future? In this damning account, Liberal Party member, lobbyist and former Howard-government advisor Guy Pearse takes us behind the rhetoric he once helped write. He reveals that the government has no plans whatsoever to reduce Australia's emissions, and explains why this is bad for Australia's economy. He exposes a prime minister wilfully blind to Australia's real interests - a man who has allowed climate change policy to be dictated by a small group of Australia's biggest polluters and the lobbyists they fund.

subjects: Global warming,  Government policy,  Greenhouse gases,  Climatic changes,  Energy policy,  Politics and government

Places: Australia

Times: 1996-