Some verbal gymnastics, and Bush is in Austria Annabel Crabb
September 8, 2007

Howard never looks entirely graceful at these events. We cannot blame him for that - they are impossible - but this one brought a special clanger, when he enthusiastically endorsed the idea of a 2012 APEC in "convivial" St Petersburg, only to be reminded with Slavic chill by Putin that Russia favours Vladivostok.

If only APEC organisers had thought to chopper in some interpreters from Texas. The US President, for whom the English language is not a tool so much as a room full of baited mousetraps, started the day in great form at the Opera House, where he told business delegates that he thought John Howard was a terrific host "of the OPEC summit".

"I mean APEC summit", he corrected himself grinningly. "I've been invited to the OPEC summit next year."

(Not true, in case the oil producers among you were wondering.)

Unless I am mistaken, even The Daily Telegraph's senior dung-beetle of the gutter press Glenn Milne writes under this totally farcical headline above, with a sense of "disbelief":

John Howard has bolstered his "green" credentials ahead of an election possibly called as early as Wednesday...

Hum... Armed with his love of anything JohnHowardian, Glenn Milne either gives us a hint, is colour blind or his sub-editor added the appendages without Glenn's knowledge. But we get a "clue". Green means green, but "green" is a dark shade of hypocrisy.

Glenn Milne may be right about "Wednesday" though... (May I say his article did not seem to have made it on the website of news.com.au)

The "Sydney Declaration" is a joke that tries to mock the serious Kyoto Protocol...

In history, the Howard Prime Minister-ship and the Dubya Presidency will be remembered as the "Wasted Years"... the 12 years of inaction and lip service to an obvious major problem grinding the planet's biosphere... Their only hypocritical useless contribution will be to foster nuclear waste on humanity for many millenium to come, unless, with so much nuclear material sloshing on the planet, we blow ourselves up before we reach maturity...

Should the US and Australia have decided on proper stringent targets in reduction of emission rather than fanciful "aspirational targets", China would have joined "willingly" as well... But then our cunning Rattus shadeofgreenii wants us to believe that a "deal" of non-binding targets is a success... Like his load of non-core promises, "rock solid" before elections turned to dust after elections... We've seen the stunts before... We know the man lies. We should be ashamed of ourselves for putting him "up there"...

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APEC leaders sign climate deal

By staff writers and wires

September 09, 2007 06:58am

THE 21 APEC world leaders have agreed "to slow, stop and then reverse" climate change but green groups have slammed the agreement as a political stunt that will do nothing to help the environment.

In a series of tense negotiations, the United States and China have joined other APEC leaders in signing the Sydney Declaration.

It commits the 21 nations to putting an aspirational target at the centre of cutting global carbon emissions after the Kyoto climate change protocol expires in five years.

Agreement a 'failure'

But Greenpeace spokeswoman Catherine Fitzpatrick said the declaration should be named the "Sydney Distraction'' on climate change.

"If this statement is the platform we build future climate change action on, the world is in trouble,'' she told AAP today.

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Cry, my planet, cry...

How "tense" can negotiations be when elasticity of non-binding rubber bands is the fudge of the day and how "tense" can negotiations be when the "agreement" is agreed three month before the final "rubber" stamp?

Kick John Howard out.

 

 

Australia, Indonesia sign forestry deal

Posted 19 minutes ago [ABC]

Australia has signed a deal with Indonesia that is designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 700 million tonnes over 30 years.

The $100 million agreement will preserve 70,000 hectares of peat land forests in Indonesia's Kalimantan region, reflood around 200,000 hectares of dried peat land and replant 100 million trees.

Mr Downer has told Channel 10 that BHP Billiton is also providing financial backing for the project.

But he has dismissed suggestions that the Government should be doing more to preserve Australian forests instead of pouring money into overseas projects.

"We obviously aren't going to cancel out the whole forestry sector in Australia," he said.

"I mean this sort of notion that you get from the Greens who are the ultimate extremists, these kinds of people think we should scrap the timber industry I mean, what sort of a world is that?"

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"What sort of a world is that?"... What sort of question is that!... Sad. sad... sad.

"over 30 years..."? Take your time, mate... Meanwhile several millions of hectares of Indonesia's virgin forest will be cut down, orangutan forests will be but vanished and the world will be a "cool" half a degree hotter...

Sleep smugly, Mr Clowner... your are only a "moderate" destructionist — compared to the "ultimate extremists" who want to save the planet, desperately...

 

Kyoto is the only way, Hu tells Howard

Marian Wilkinson, Environment Editor
September 10, 2007
Latest related coverage

THE Prime Minister, John Howard, compromised on his Sydney climate change declaration to accommodate the tough stance of the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, supporting the United Nations and the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol includes binding targets for developed countries to cut emissions.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum leaders' meeting on Saturday, shortly before the release of the declaration, Mr Hu bluntly told Mr Howard that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change "and its Kyoto Protocol" was the legal basis for any international co-operation on climate change.

He also told Mr Howard the framework and the Kyoto Protocol were "the most authoritative, universal and comprehensive international framework" for tackling climate change.

"Developed countries should face their historical responsibility and their high per-capita emissions," Mr Hu insisted, saying the countries should "strictly abide by their emission reduction targets set forth in the Kyoto Protocol". His remarks were circulated by Chinese officials after the APEC leaders' meeting and before the final Sydney declaration was released.

This week, delegates from more than 180 countries are gathered in Bali for a United Nations-sponsored conference, where they will try to hash out a road map for a post-Kyoto climate treaty.

Meanwhile, Germany is forging ahead and adopting what experts here say is the most comprehensive climate-protection package ever enacted worldwide.  

Using a raft of measures - many aimed at boosting energy efficiency or cultivating renewable energy sources - the nation plans to reduce heat-trapping gases by 36 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2020.  

By adopting the plan Wednesday, Germany aims to influence the negotiations. 

"We hope that the example set by our decisions will be followed and that we come together internationally to implement ambitious climate goals," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday in her weekly podcast.  

In Bali, Germany Takes Dramatic Step On Climate Change