SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Canada's Harper, Australia's Abbott Forge 'Climate Deniers Club'
Two prime ministers heap praise on each other for anti-climate change leadership
Jun 10, 2014
The prime ministers of Australia and Canada joined their conservative voices in Ottawa on Monday to stress the need for economic growth over policies that address the climate crisis.
"I'm happy to call you an exemplar of center-right leadership," Australia's Tony Abbott said of Canada's Stephen Harper. "Much for us to learn, much for me to learn from the work you've done," he said.
Abbott and Harper downplayed the threats of climate change, and said that they would not take any measures to address it that would "hurt the economy."
Abbott said climate change is "not the only or even the most important problem that the world faces."
"It's not that we don't seek to deal with climate change," said Harper. "But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth, not destroy jobs and growth in our countries."
The two also voiced their shared criticism of a carbon tax. Abbott said he and Harper were "like-minded" in their opposition to such a tax, while Harper praised Abbott's "encourag[ing] our counterparts in the major economies and beyond to boost economic growth, to lower taxes when possible and to eliminate harmful ones, most notably the job-killing carbon tax."
Abbott said that any action to address climate change should not "clobber the economy."
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne shot back on Tuesday, saying, "Climate change is clobbering the economy and it's time that some common sense clobbered Tony Abbott."
Of Abbott's alliance with Harper, she said, "Our prime minister is seeking to put together a climate deniers' club."
Jamie Henn of 350.org has made similar comments about the pair, saying Harper was joining Abbott in "a race to the bottom," and calling the Harper administration "just another member of the carbon cartel."
The two administrations have been widely criticized for their environmental policies, including Harper's "broad assault on the environment" including support for tar sands development, and Abbott's efforts to repeal the country's carbon tax and axing of the nation's climate watchdog.
Abbott now heads to the U.S. and is scheduled to meet with President Obama on Thursday.
____________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The prime ministers of Australia and Canada joined their conservative voices in Ottawa on Monday to stress the need for economic growth over policies that address the climate crisis.
"I'm happy to call you an exemplar of center-right leadership," Australia's Tony Abbott said of Canada's Stephen Harper. "Much for us to learn, much for me to learn from the work you've done," he said.
Abbott and Harper downplayed the threats of climate change, and said that they would not take any measures to address it that would "hurt the economy."
Abbott said climate change is "not the only or even the most important problem that the world faces."
"It's not that we don't seek to deal with climate change," said Harper. "But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth, not destroy jobs and growth in our countries."
The two also voiced their shared criticism of a carbon tax. Abbott said he and Harper were "like-minded" in their opposition to such a tax, while Harper praised Abbott's "encourag[ing] our counterparts in the major economies and beyond to boost economic growth, to lower taxes when possible and to eliminate harmful ones, most notably the job-killing carbon tax."
Abbott said that any action to address climate change should not "clobber the economy."
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne shot back on Tuesday, saying, "Climate change is clobbering the economy and it's time that some common sense clobbered Tony Abbott."
Of Abbott's alliance with Harper, she said, "Our prime minister is seeking to put together a climate deniers' club."
Jamie Henn of 350.org has made similar comments about the pair, saying Harper was joining Abbott in "a race to the bottom," and calling the Harper administration "just another member of the carbon cartel."
The two administrations have been widely criticized for their environmental policies, including Harper's "broad assault on the environment" including support for tar sands development, and Abbott's efforts to repeal the country's carbon tax and axing of the nation's climate watchdog.
Abbott now heads to the U.S. and is scheduled to meet with President Obama on Thursday.
____________________________________
The prime ministers of Australia and Canada joined their conservative voices in Ottawa on Monday to stress the need for economic growth over policies that address the climate crisis.
"I'm happy to call you an exemplar of center-right leadership," Australia's Tony Abbott said of Canada's Stephen Harper. "Much for us to learn, much for me to learn from the work you've done," he said.
Abbott and Harper downplayed the threats of climate change, and said that they would not take any measures to address it that would "hurt the economy."
Abbott said climate change is "not the only or even the most important problem that the world faces."
"It's not that we don't seek to deal with climate change," said Harper. "But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth, not destroy jobs and growth in our countries."
The two also voiced their shared criticism of a carbon tax. Abbott said he and Harper were "like-minded" in their opposition to such a tax, while Harper praised Abbott's "encourag[ing] our counterparts in the major economies and beyond to boost economic growth, to lower taxes when possible and to eliminate harmful ones, most notably the job-killing carbon tax."
Abbott said that any action to address climate change should not "clobber the economy."
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne shot back on Tuesday, saying, "Climate change is clobbering the economy and it's time that some common sense clobbered Tony Abbott."
Of Abbott's alliance with Harper, she said, "Our prime minister is seeking to put together a climate deniers' club."
Jamie Henn of 350.org has made similar comments about the pair, saying Harper was joining Abbott in "a race to the bottom," and calling the Harper administration "just another member of the carbon cartel."
The two administrations have been widely criticized for their environmental policies, including Harper's "broad assault on the environment" including support for tar sands development, and Abbott's efforts to repeal the country's carbon tax and axing of the nation's climate watchdog.
Abbott now heads to the U.S. and is scheduled to meet with President Obama on Thursday.
____________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy