E-Kantipur

Ditch the witch,” shouted angry protestors outside the Australian parliament last week. It was directed at the country’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard for trying to introduce a controversial carbon tax.

The unusual tension in Canberra must have been the worst nightmare for any developed world politician who has even thought about bringing legislation to cut carbon emissions during these financially difficult times.

Whatever circumstances Australian politics is now under - whether Gillard’s labour party was right to bring the carbon tax bill or the opposition Conservatives were sensibly rejecting it - the fight became quite ugly indeed.

And it wasn’t just the scornful slogan; the opposition has even launched a strong campaign that could bring the Australian coalition government down.

Riding high in opinion polls, the conservatives have sought a fresh vote on the controversy. They have argued that the tax to be imposed on 500 top polluting companies in the country will mean job losses and rise in household bills—while it will not make major cuts in carbon emissions.

Given that big companies including Qantas Airways have already announced job cuts, analysts say, the carbon tax debate could cost Gillard her government if elections were to be held now. This is yet another deterring development for any developed countries’ leader considering flirting with carbon-cut adventure.

So, what we saw happening this week rather was western leaders scrambling to secure Libya’s oil wealth—the fossil fuel which is among the main sources of carbon emissions.

As rebels closed in on Tripoli, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini on Monday wasted no time to announce that his country’s oil company Eni “would have the number one role in Libya in the future.”

The same day, French president Nicolas Sarkozy invited the head of the rebels’ national transitional council, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil.

And the rebels have indicated that they would “pay back” the NATO countries that provided them the crucial

air cover while fighting Colonel Gaddafi’s forces.

“We don’t have a problem with western countries like Italians, French and UK companies (to negotiate deal for oil facilities),” a spokesman for the Libyan rebel oil company Agoco was quoted as saying by Reuters.

A new government with close ties to NATO may be an easier partner for western nations to deal with, the New York Times wrote. “Some experts say that given a free hand, oil companies could find considerably more oil in Libya than they were able to locate under the restrictions placed by the Gaddafi government.”

Western countries blatantly going to this extent for oil despite their reputation in Iraq and elsewhere - and despite their repeated commitment toward green economies - explains where we really are in the fight against climate change.

Once the ice of the Arctic Circle melts further and its territorial dispute gets resolved, these fossil-fuel hungry economies will in no time plunder the entire oil reserves there.

Even without the arctic oil piped to gas stations, the number of cars on the planet passed the billion mark this week. An estimation shows a record 35 million new vehicles were sold worldwide last year and that 95,000 cars arrive on the streets everyday to worsen the gridlock.

Half of that growth happened in China where Toyota could sell only one Prius, the world’s most commercially successful hybrid car, the Guardian reported. “SUVs sales (in China), by contrast, are surging.”

But, why should that even matter when countries that claim to be crusaders against climate change are themselves so much fond of

fossil fuel?

And so, another major economy India carrying on with business as usual does not come as a surprise. The Indian government recently revised its own estimates of coal shortage till March next year to 112 million tonnes, up from its earlier estimation of 83 million tonnes.

Which means, mining of coal - the worst form of carbon — will go up significantly in the days to come.

The Chinese and Indian dependency on dirty fuels is a convenient excuse for the US to defend its fossil-fuelled economy.

It has arrested dozens of people from in front of White House this week for protesting a planned pipeline to transport oil sands crude from Canada.

Washington is already under fire from environmental groups for shelving its climate bill.

All this means the pumping of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will continue unabated.

That means, scientists say, climate will continue to change and its impacts will hit the poor and vulnerable communities the hardest.

The heaps of adaptation plans and programs — as Nepal has ranging from the national adaptation program of action (NAPA) to climate change policy and now the planned climate change strategy - will become increasingly irrelevant.    

Without addressing the real causes of climatic changes, it will be like fighting a losing battle. 

navin.khadka@gmail.com

Khadka is a BBC journalist based in London

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