As Australia’s conservative Liberal-National Prime Minister prepares to meet the United States president, a senior US Democrat has strongly criticised Tony Abbott’s stance on climate change.
The vexed issue is expected to be discussed when Mr Abbott and Barack Obama sit down for talks in Washington later today.
Long-serving Californian Democrat Henry Waxman, regarded as one of the most powerful Democrats in the US, told ABC1 TV program 7.30 that the Australian government’s plan to repeal the carbon pricing scheme was a “mistake”.
He said Mr Abbott’s policies were making Australia a “behind-the-scenes lagger” on global efforts to tackle the problem.
“As I understand it, Australia will go from being one of the great leaders in the world in tackling this problem, to one of the great laggers in addressing efforts to reducing the pollution that is threatening the planet that we’re living on,” he said.
Last week Mr Obama’s administration unveiled new regulations requiring the power sector to cut emissions by 30 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, one of the strongest actions ever taken by the US to combat global warming.
Mr Abbott has likened the measure to his own government’s “Direct Action” policies.
However, Mr Waxman rejected that saying the Australian policy “doesn’t sound anything like what President Obama is proposing”.
“What President Obama is proposing is much closer to the existing Australian law and that’s why I hope that Australian law is not reversed,” he told ABC TV.
He dismissed the Liberal-National government’s controversial “Direct Action” policy, where companies bid in reverse auctions to win taxpayer funding for programs to cut their emissions, as a voluntary system “that never worked anywhere”.
“It would be a serious mistake for Australia to leave the current policy and go to one that’s voluntary,” he added.
Before his swing through the US, Mr Abbott met his Canadian counterpart and fellow conservative Stephen Harper, who shares the PM’s opposition to carbon trading systems.
ABC TV reports Mr Waxman warned both countries were “out of sync” and “at odds” with international moves, particularly in the US and Europe.
“Rather than being leaders, they’re going to be behind-the-scenes laggers, they’re going in the wrong direction,” he said.
Keeping up pressure on Mr Abbott’s government the congressman also said Mr Obama would “look forward” to climate change being on the agenda at November’s G20 leader’s summit in Brisbane.
So far Mr Abbott has resisted pressure from the US and the European Union on the issue saying he favoured economic issues.
“I hope that Australia will not turn its back on its leadership role and become a drag on what we all need to be doing around the world,” Mr Waxman told ABC TV.
“We can’t discuss the economy without talking about energy and environmental protection.”
Mr Waxman will retire this year after 39 years in Congress.
He lists as one of his political “highlights” securing damning testimony from tobacco company bosses in 1994, who swore under oath that smoking was not addictive and did not cause diseases.
“When you hear people denying the science of climate change it’s so reminiscent to me of the tobacco company scientists,” he told the 7.30 program.
Mr Waxman’s comments came as independent MP Clive Palmer confirmed that his Palmer United Party senators would support legislation to repeal the carbon price laws brought in by the previous Labor government.
