Reflections on Forty Years of Failed Australian Climate Policy (Foreword)

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Author(s)
Lowe, Ian
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
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Forty years ago, I analysed Australia’s future energy alternatives in the very first issue of Social Alternatives (Lowe 1977). It then became clear that climate change was significant and would demand a new approach to energy supply and use (Lowe 1989). Vested interests and right-wing politicians have prolonged the fossil fuel industry, largely through carefully orchestrated misinformation, but rapid change is now evident. The 2019-20 bushfires demonstrated the scale of the threat to Australia. While an optimist might think that even Coalition governments will have to bow to the inevitable, the fixation with growth remains ...
View more >Forty years ago, I analysed Australia’s future energy alternatives in the very first issue of Social Alternatives (Lowe 1977). It then became clear that climate change was significant and would demand a new approach to energy supply and use (Lowe 1989). Vested interests and right-wing politicians have prolonged the fossil fuel industry, largely through carefully orchestrated misinformation, but rapid change is now evident. The 2019-20 bushfires demonstrated the scale of the threat to Australia. While an optimist might think that even Coalition governments will have to bow to the inevitable, the fixation with growth remains a fundamental obstacle.
View less >
View more >Forty years ago, I analysed Australia’s future energy alternatives in the very first issue of Social Alternatives (Lowe 1977). It then became clear that climate change was significant and would demand a new approach to energy supply and use (Lowe 1989). Vested interests and right-wing politicians have prolonged the fossil fuel industry, largely through carefully orchestrated misinformation, but rapid change is now evident. The 2019-20 bushfires demonstrated the scale of the threat to Australia. While an optimist might think that even Coalition governments will have to bow to the inevitable, the fixation with growth remains a fundamental obstacle.
View less >
Journal Title
Social Alternatives
Volume
39
Issue
2
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Social Alternatives. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Political Science
Sociology
Social Sciences
Sociology