Lima: Trade Minister Andrew Robb has told  business leaders at climate change negotiations in Lima that Canberra may not sign up to a new global deal if major trade competitors are not pulling their weight,  stating Australia will not "get it in the neck".

Mr Robb hosted the meeting for Australian business leaders on Tuesday - which Fairfax Media also attended - and said the Abbott government had to ensure anything agreed through the United Nations climate talks would not put Australia at a disadvantage to its immediate trade rivals.

The attendance of Mr Robb in Peru - who has been labelled a climate sceptic - has raised eyebrows after it was reported he was sent by Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office to watch over Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the talks.

Tuesday was the first full day at the Lima negotiations for Australia's two ministerial representatives, with Ms Bishop announcing a $200 million contribution to the Green Climate Fund - to be taken from foreign aid.

Ms Bishop has previously said foreign aid should not be used on climate change initiatives. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has previously said Australia would not contribute to the fund, as it was "socialism masquerading as environmentalism".

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-talks-tough-on-climate-in-lima-20141210-124fy8.html

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To some extend "socialism masquerading as environmentalism" would be preferable to "vandalism masquerading as capitalism"... But unfortunately, the understanding of environmental issues is totally independent of political ideologies. Global warming is real. It's not a communist plot. It's a scientific observation, whether one is a sceptic, a denialist or not. Records of warm are being reset daily. For example, Sydney has experienced its seven days of consecutive lightning-storms since records began (with more lightning-storms predicted) and 2014 has so far this year has been about 3 degrees Celsius above average. Global warming is already biting us in the bum and it's not going to improve. The science of global warming is accurate and its predictions are quite "conservative", in the sense that the scientific official community chose to present the lower figure of the predictive bracketing, while the scientific observations show a steady increase in warming due to CO2 emissions. It's undeniable, Mr Robb. Wake up from your morning bananas, take your pills and seriously come to realise that whatever happened before the big bang is quite "irrelevant" to the way particles behave in this universe.  

Some people will note that Old Gus has gone completely bonkers.. But science, from quantum mechanics to global warming, tells us a few truths that are far more accurate than bunkum religiosity or elastic economics. We need to seriously understand this and do something at reducing OUR emissions of CO2 even if other morons on earth don't do as much. At least we would have the high moral ground on this serious problem, and they would have to come to the same reality very soon after, nonetheless. This is not a Mexican stand off. The "theory" of global warming is far more serious than an tight-arsed accountant's ledger...

The future of the planet is at stake. Capitalism cannot carry on and ignore environmental issues like the destroying vandalism it has so far been. It's time to change our system of accounting. Simple.

The Australian government’s rhetoric to its domestic audience about international climate talks is “harder line” than the positions it is taking in the actual negotiations, according to long-term observers of the process.

“In many areas the actual negotiating position of the current government is much the same as the former government, the real difference is in their rhetoric and their posturing,” said the deputy director of the Climate Institute, Erwin Jackson. “Their rhetoric is definitely tougher at home.”

Before leaving for the climate talks in Lima, foreign minister Julie Bishop insisted that any targets agreed at next year’s meeting in Paris had to be “legally binding” or else the deal would “amount to nothing more than aspirations”. This was labelled an impossible demand by many experts, because a treaty imposing hard legal obligations on the United States was unlikely to pass the US congress.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/11/australia-still-constructive-in-climate-talks-despite-julie-bishops-rhetoric

Treasurer Joe Hockey will slash foreign aid and reveal a massive blowout in this year's deficit when he hands down his mid-year budget update today.

The ABC's AM program understands the aid budget will be reduced to Howard-era levels and more than $3 billion will be cut over the next four years.

The cuts in today's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) come on top of a $7.6 billion cut to the aid budget in May.

Some of the money will be redirected to fund new spending decisions, such as a $630 million boost to national security and the deployment of troops to the Middle East.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-15/myefo-foreign-aid-slashed-again-deficits-balloon/5966620

Meanwhile, in his soup kitchen accounting, Joe also slashes war veteran supports...

The Fred Hollows Foundation relies on generous donations from people to continue Fred's work today. But it also needs support from the Australian Government to keep its goal of ending avoidable blindness within reach. With $11.3 billion slashed from the aid budget in just one year, this becomes even harder.

We urgently need you to stand with us against these cuts. Please, click here to sign the Fred Hollows petition.

Australian aid will soon be at the lowest point since records began in 1954. Less than 0.22% of our gross national income is a small contribution, considering Australia is one of the world's wealthiest countries.

Fred never shirked a hard conversation or dodged speaking up. He believed injustice had to be confronted and took a stand when it was necessary.