The Courier-Mail
Addressing the challenge of climate change is not simply a matter of waiting for someone to set the rules for us to follow
Last year it was droughts. This year it could well be flooding rains, if scientists' forecasts of a pending period of high cyclonic activity prove correct.
Australia's changeable weather has always had a significant place in our national psyche but its influences on public policy seem to be more prominent than ever before. This time last year, the Bligh Government's fortunes were tied to delivering the $9 billion water grid in time to stave off massive water shortages in southeast Queensland. Federally, the new Rudd Government was under strong pressure to agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020.
But then it rained, and the global financial crisis struck, and priorities shifted. A year later and the water grid has been built, but with some significant changes. Purified recycled water will now be added to our dams only in emergencies, thereby removing a significant political challenge for Premier Anna Bligh as she faces this year's looming state election. The controversial Traveston Dam has been put on hold while politically sensitive environmental issues are addressed. Such adjustments were only possible because the dams began to fill again.
The Rudd Government demonstrated flexibility and common sense by opting for a target range for cutting carbon emissions -- from a low of 5 per cent to a high of 15 per cent if there is a global agreement on targets later this year. Harder-line environmentalists attacked the Government for being too cautious, but the global financial
crisis gave more power to Labor's argument that a balance had to be struck between protecting the environment and protecting jobs.
When it comes to setting policies about the climate and human impact upon it, governments will be influenced not just by the science but also by political and economic realities. It was ever thus, but that should not stop all of us from doing all we can to minimise our collective impact on the globe. Governments can, and will, affect behaviour through regulations and charges. But addressing the challenge of climate change is not simply a matter of waiting for someone to set the rules for us to follow. It is not something passive, but rather something that all of us, each of us, can actively engage in.
As a simple and sensible rule for living, thinking about just how we use the resources available to us makes a lot of sense. At least some of the solution lies in reconsidering how we do things. Less than a decade ago, Brisbane residents were each using close to 500 litres of water a day, a third of it on gardens and swimming pools. Today the figure is 155 litres per person a day, the result of new water usage rules and growing awareness of just how precious and finite our water resources really are.
It is true that excess or illegal water users face fines. But it is a fair bet that for the great majority of us, it is not the fear of a fine but rather the desire to do the right thing that motivates us to be water misers. There is no reason why this same sentiment cannot be effectively used in our collective effort to control greenhouse gas emissions.
We do need our governments to establish sensible rules and regulations, and we can judge them accordingly. But that does not let us off the hook. Individual behaviour and responsibility can, and will, make a difference.
Responsibility for election comment is taken by David Fagan, 41 Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by Queensland Newspapers Pty. Ltd. (ACN 009 661 778)
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