{"id":570562,"date":"2010-05-19T06:53:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-19T10:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-3791709679888360566"},"modified":"2010-05-19T08:26:00","modified_gmt":"2010-05-19T12:26:00","slug":"greenies-and-business-unite-on-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/570562","title":{"rendered":"Greenies and business unite on climate action"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SMH reports that some sectors of the Australian business community are demanding action on climate change (not that either of the major parties seems inclined to listen – dumb and dumber) – Greenies and business unite on climate action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BUSINESSES are planning an unlikely alliance with the Australian Conservation Foundation to prod the nation’s leaders into fundamental action on climate change.<\/p>\n

The federal government’s decision to shelve its carbon emissions trading scheme has jeopardised investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, driving some companies to plan a climate circuit-breaker.<\/p>\n

One plan under review is a revival of the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change, which emerged four years ago when the Howard government was baulking at action.<\/p>\n

The roundtable was remarkable for teaming an environmental group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, with six big members of the corporate world: Westpac, the re-insurer Swiss Re, Insurance Australia Group, Origin Energy, Visy Industries and BP Australasia.<\/p>\n

The group’s landmark report of 2006 warned of grave economic harm if Australia did not take early action on global warming – a view that ” took courage” at the time, one of the founding members recalled this week.<\/p>\n

”Between them the chief executives of these companies lobbied all the east coast premiers, the then prime minister, and the opposition leader. A lot of senior-level heavy lifting went on behind the scenes after the launch of our report, and that probably had more effect than the report itself.”<\/p>\n

When the Howard government reluctantly moved to adopt an emissions trading scheme, the group faded, thinking its work done.<\/p>\n

But the decision to delay the emissions trading scheme raised the prospect of a new alliance.<\/p>\n

” We have got some early feelers out to resuscitate something like the roundtable,” a key player told the Herald.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n