While ever we continue to take no meaningful action at all and continue the out of control rabbit like population growth policies of this bunch of vandalistic ferals in Canberra we never will meet any emission target.

The “..  latest greenhouse gas emissions..” are as boring as bat droppings and totallly insignificant when compared with the emissions of countries like China and India. By the look of him, Graeme McLeay is well past doctoring, let alone a subject he knows nothing about – relying as all lay people do on the utterings of people not known for their truthfulness over the time that AGW has become the the biggest con job ever.

What Turnbull should have done is followed Trump's lead and given the whole thing, including the Paris farce, the bum's rush. It has cost us too much already and has meant only hugely increased power prices as the above mentioned countries go on building coal powered generators with the coal we sell to them but don't want to use ourselves.

We Australians must now be well up there with the dumbest people in the world. In fact, our politicians are the dumbest people in the world.

“After a decade of the climate wars and 30 years of warnings from scientists about rising global temperature and its terrible implications for life on Earth, this is woefully unacceptable”. No! The woefully unacceptable thing is the lies that we have been hearing for 30 years by crooks making a motza out of the biggest ruse on earth. And the lies still keep coming: diminishing ice, dying polar bears, warming – on and on; all disproved, but still believed and spread about by useful idiots like this bloke, and of course, the vile, corrupt United Nations.

What I find galling is the way Turnbull bignoted himself at the Paris climate conference about the 26-28% emissions cut. We're going the other way a bit the Melbourne Cup being galloped backwards.

If the electricity sector has to do most of the heavy lifting I make that about 140 Mt out of 190 Mt therefore unlikely. Generous subsidies and quotas for renewable energy have failed to do enough except increase power bills so the answer must lie elsewhere like nuclear.

There is general scepticism about electric cars but we don't want them charged with gas and coal fired electricity. Across the ditch petrol is $NZ2.05 per litre so expect screams of blue murder when it happens here. Replacing half our short range cars with EV could add 10-15% to electricity demand. Then we're supposed to use electric heat pumps and induction cookers not gas. If not nuclear what else?

Agree with much of the Author's expressed sentiments. As South Australia found out the hard way! The answer clearly not renewables, nor renewables connected to eiter batteries/pumped hydro already doubled in cost, since first mooted just months ago! Unless we want to further cripple our manufacturing sector.

The answer clearly is nuclear. Not any nuclear but FORBIDDEN by the US government, patently protecting vested fossil fuel/big nuclear from competition that would destroy both their current business models!

Nixon killed off thorium by withdrawing its funding and redirecting it to his home state of California, to a liquid metal R+D project that has since suffered a meltdown and a shutdown.

If we started to research carbon free, walk away safe, molten salt thorium, we would be following a long line of countries, now thumbing the collective nose to OPEC and America's nuclear industry!

Why shouldn't we, even if that incorporates some sovereign risk for price gouging, tax avoiding, profit repatriating foreigners?

Nick, it's hard to achieve a commercial enterprise if it's forbidden for one reason and one reason only!

To protect the vested interests of the fossil fuel industry, big nuclear and significant number of renewables! And for all the wrong reasons, none of which are aimed at mitigating against climate change?

Climate change, the very last thing on the radar of our government and the vested interests they plainly serve?

It's time they and those they answer to? Stopped treating the average mug out there in Mugsville as mushrooms! Our dying on the vine manufacturing sector deserve better!

And undivided loyalty to Australia and Australians first! Hard to do, while receiving $800,000.00 PA, from a chinese business interest, like a former minister, with the ear of the government?

We've seen enough, murder by mudslides, caused by clear felled forests, felled for the want of affordable energy and the alternative enterprises, they could have created! And indeed, progressively mitigated against counterproductive, planet killing population growth!

Moreover, with the only measure that has worked thus far! Improved economic circumstances! TBC.
Alan B.

Climate change is easier if we also attack and remove poverty wherever it exists! Overpopulation is only addressable, by improving the economic circumstances of those countries, confounded by too many mouths to feed!

And forced to clear fell forests as one of a few indigenous industries, available to mismanaged banana republics the world over!

Or worse imposed as the only remaining survival mechanism for the resident population!

Ateday and others have long bewailed population growth and expect, simplistically! One can legislate against it!?

Possible only with draconian measures imposed by absolute dictatorships! No reasonable decent normal human being would advocate that, when quite deliberately improved economic circumstance works far better and without limiting the personal freedoms and choices of "NORMAL" human beings!

And as simple as providing affordable potable water! Providing that, as difficult or easy as providing CLEAN, SAFE, AFFORDABLE energy!

And resisted to the last dime by a tiny minority whose commercial interests might be hurt, because they couldn't cope with change that obliged them to cut their losses and change their business model!

[So, who needs debt laden foreign speculators anyway? The Celtic Tiger?]

Moreover, what the most successful managers employed as soon as they saw the writing on the wall! And that now writ large writing is saying. Walk away safe, molten salt thorium and deionization dialysis desalination, as the complete not for profit package that'd start/do it!
Alan B.

Good and timely truth-telling essay.

I really like the contents and world-view promoted by the Doctors for the Environment website. It is entirely life positive for both humans and the natural world too, upon which we are completely dependent for quite literally everything.

It has complete resonance with this essay re the zone of human responsibility in anthropocene epoc http://www.dabase.org/p2anthro.htm