In this second part of my discussion with Ian Dunlop, chairman of Safe Climate Australia, we talk about what climate change means for capitalism. Can we change our behaviour in a system that demands continual growth?
Ian says the free market has served us well, but needs regulation. Our quest for laissez-faire economics means a lot of checks and balances have been removed,to our detriment.
Carbon pricing is an attempt to keep our current system alive, but reflect the true cost of economic inputs that pollute our atmosphere. Ian says it is not a tax, but the removal of an enormous subsidy that the fossil fuel industry has enjoyed since the start of the industrial revolution.
To stop temperatures rising by four or five degrees, he reckons we need to reduce carbon by as much as 50 percent by 2020, with complete decarbonisation by 2050. That’s a big ask from a country planning to double its coal exports over the next ten years.
-
Thodey’s Last Stand
David Thodey has announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO of Telstra – so did he do a good job?
-
Australia, faring better than most, but big hike still expected
The RBA is expected to lift interest rates by 50 basis points today, says NAB’s Tapas Strickland. The biggest sign of concern about the state of the global economy is how German trade has slipped into a sizeable deficit.
-
False hope on G20? Unicorn dreams from Boris?
The G20 summit kicks off, but will Presidents Trump and Xi reach an agreement? I ask NAB’s Gavin Friend whether the expectations are overly optimistic.
