Fossil of the Day
17 November 2016
Yesterday’s first place Fossil of the Day award went to Australia for their complaints about dirty baggage. ECO doesn’t mean to gossip, but yesterday Australia was caught complaining to the US about American charities standing in solidarity with Australian communities who are fighting to prevent the construction of the largest ever coal mine down under—Adani’s Carmichael mine. Australia ratified the Paris Agreement last Friday, so lobbying for coal expansion here is an ugly thing to be doing.
Second place went to Austria for dodgy lobbying and dragging down ambition. Despite no progress on emissions for over 25 years, Austria has lobbied hard to get maximum flexibility for LULUCF credits as part of the Effort Sharing Decision for the EU’s 2030 climate targets. At the same time, the Austrian government has failed to make any kind of post-2020 financial commitment. Boo to you, Austria!
Last place went to New Zealand for supporting suspect carbon credits. Despite being involved in discussions to develop ‘high-integrity’ international carbon markets, NZ has been fronting up with ‘dodgy carbon credits’ to meet its obligations under the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. New Zealand: why are you trying to be Australia now?