Far from being a bit player Australia is a major contributor to GW through coal exports. Australia's 375 megatonne coal production must generate more than a Gt (billion tonnes) of CO2. That is a lot of the 8 Gt world total, given we have some 0.3% of the world's population. If we want to 'think local, act global' as Realist suggests then stop coal exports. If Australia is just a tiny Chihuahua then it is one with flatulence so powerful it can clear the room.

Taswegian is right. Our coal exports are a big part of global greenhouse gas pollution. Howard knows that and it is the reason he won't sign Kyoto. The government is attempting to meet Kyoto targets anyway, but conveniently overlooks the pollution from the exported coal.
Hard to believe that there are those prepared to argue that global warming is not a concern. By focussing on Venus, both the author and his detractors are being sidetracked. The government could put us back in the lead in investigating alternative energy sources, which is where the smart money is going. Even the enivironmental neanderthals in the Bush administration recognise that. Instead, the government has directed the CSIRO to pursue this furphy known as carbon sequestration.

Taswegian,

I'm sorry, but I just can't follow your logic on coal exports. Say we stop exports, say to Japan. The Japanese simply switch to importing coal from South Africa (not an annex 1 country, so expempted for Kyoto restrictions). Not one molecule of CO2 less would enter the atmosphere, and the only result would be mass unemployment of coal miners here. Where is the benefit?

"Why sign something that restricts you, when you are not the main culprit of emmissions? Kyoto has achieved its intended, it has committed countries that were impactual (due to estimated increases in emissions etc), which is a positive step."

It has signed countries that were impactual? Australia per capita is one of if not the biggest polluter globally! While the USA is the biggest gross contributor to global warming. Both of these countries have not signed Kyoto!

Venus is supposed to be an odd 45 million km closer to the sun than Earth is... maybe that's why it's a tad hotter.

Facts not fear.

I believe in global warming, but the "scientific mainstream" is a collection of people (not scientific fact) who have been wrong in the path (geocentrism, flat earth etc).

The coal industry itself has conceded the need for 60% cuts in emissions. Since I doubt geosequestration will progress beyond an experimental novelty that should mean the industry will be severely downsized, perhaps with the miners re-employed into newer 'green' industries. That won't happen anytime soon because of political protection and scenarios such as supplier switching. However as the years go by with more climate dramas I think low emitters will turn nasty towards major coal traders. For example Europe could ask Australia and China for restraint. Therefore there seems a chance of adopting an internationally enforced carbon trading scheme. Hopefully while the problem is still manageable.