The Day After - Climate Change Changes Leaders
25 June 2010
When they move – they move quickly in politics. At Climate Alliance we anticipated that the Rudd Government would have to reverse its position on climate change again. We did not think it would happen so quickly!
Yesterday, Julia Gillard was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Australia. Please see below an excerpt from her acceptance speech:
“It's my intention to lead a government that does more to harness the wind and the sun and the new emerging technologies. I will do this because I believe in climate change. I believe human beings contribute to climate change and it is most disappointing to me, as it is to millions of Australians, that we do not have a price on carbon, and in the future we will need one. If elected as Prime Minister, I will re-prosecute the case for a carbon price at home and abroad. I will do that as global economic conditions improve and as our economy continues to strengthen."
For a topic that is peripheral in the minds of many, it is very interesting to observe the impact that climate change can have on the career of politicians.
It certainly helped Kevin Rudd beat John Howard in the 2007 election. Supporting action on climate change most definitely cost Turnbull his job as Opposition leader in December 2009. And now, Mr Rudd’s decision to postpone the CPRS was one of the major reasons for his demise.
It is a salient lesson for directors and leaders of industry. If this issue can have such a devastating impact on popular politicians – what is the exposure of leaders in the business community?
Julia Gillard will need to go to the election this year (as she emphatically said yesterday) with a very clear policy on climate change. It will need to be carefully designed to ensure that there is no possibility of Labor reneging on its commitments. A repeat of the CPRS performance would be political suicide for the party.
I think Climate Alliance has just become much more relevant in the last 24 hours!
Enjoy the ride!
Ben Scheltus
CEO, Climate Alliance