Fortunately, you're only a student, James. You still have an opportunity to grow up, get over the use of cliches and come to grips with reality.

China's increase in emissions each year is greater than Australia's total emissions, just as the number of honours students in China exceeds Australia's total number of students. Nothing Australia does is of any consequence, especially when it comes to futile political gestures and the poltics of moral bankruptcy.

The carbon dioxide tax is not better than nothing. It's a catastrophic disaster. That will become obvious to people like you in due course, when you notice that having a science degree is rather pointless in the absence of science-based industry.

A simple challenge, James: tell us how food, water, groceries, pharmaceuticals and other essentials are to be distributed without the emission of carbon dioxide. And while you're at it, please do so without using a computer.

"Beyond Zero Emissions is designing a comprehensive plan for Australia to transition to a zero-carbon economy in ten years, debunking the argument that it cannot be done."

No, to debunk the argument that it cannot be done, you actually have to DO it. History is chock full of 'comprehensive' plans which came to grief on the rocks of reality. There's no reason to think that this one will be any different.

Who is paying for all this?

Do they get a voice in all the "you should do this, that and the other, that WE want"?

"Secondly, support the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and campaign for it to be ideally implemented. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition's current Repower Australia petition aims to do exactly this."

Oh right, it's a petition .. so I guess it's Joe average taxpayer footing the bills again, while all the Climate Activists, activise ad nauseum ...

Mate, most of us are pretty tired at all the green eco whackos, demanding we change our lifestyles into unsustainable dreary morbid shadows to prop up your egos, and at the very next chance, 2013 I believe, will wipe you off the planet's surface.

There is an up side to this for you too, you'll be able to go and get a real job .. as you clearly think you can feed a family and survive being an activist .. reality is quite the leveler.

Yes, it's nice to have dreams and all that, but do it for yourself and get out of my life with your regulations and laws.

We don't want your social engineering by activism and regulation .. we will reject your totalitarianism desires for the rest of us.

James,

Your piece seems to assume that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are the greatest threat facing mankind. I am very interested in just what evidence you are seeing that convinces you that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are causing dangerous global warming. On the evidence that I see, there is much we don't know about the system. At best, anthropogenic CO2 seems likely to play only a minor role, with natural factors and land-use factors (think 1930s US DustBowl) being more dominant.

You may have noticed that despite assertions of "years of debate" that actually the government has NEVER answered the questions about evidence for CO2 causing harm. Nor has it answered questions as to the actual reduction in emissions this punitive tax will have.

As well as that, I am interested that you think that we should destroy Australia's competitive position in the world economy, without actually having any positive impact on reducing CO2 emissions.

I assume that you don't pay much in the way of taxes yet. Its easy to argue to impose additional costs on others, Eh!

"Australia to transition to a zero-carbon economy in ten years, debunking the argument that it cannot be done."

I read the report, and the best I can say about it is that it is well intentioned. The rest is financially and technically incompetent.

James,

You forgot fission power, champ. If you're really so keen to see CO2 free power generation, supporting nuclear power would be the obvious choice in a country so well suited to generating most of its power from nuclear fission.

Such a glaring omission from your article suggest to me that there is more to your agenda than minimising CO2 emissions.