Climate justice vs climate denial

Retreat of the Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia 1940-2005.

The government of Bolivia made a submission to a UN working group on climate change. Their message: Rich countries must pay their ecological debt.

The statement includes: “There is no viable solution to climate change that is effective without being equitable. Deep emission reductions by developed countries are a necessary condition for stabilising the Earth’s climate…. Any solution that does not ensure an equitable distribution of the Earth’s limited capacity to absorb greenhouse gases, as well as the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change, is destined to fail.”

See the full document on Links.

Meanwhile, Australian geologist, Ian Plimer, has released a big new book Heaven and Earth which denies climate change is happening. The Australian, in particular, has presented the book as a breakthrough study.

Professor Barry Brook, Director of Climate Science at The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, rebuts Plimer’s arguments on his site Brave New Climate.

You can also listen to Brook’s excellent interview with Craig Nelson & John Rice on Plimer’s book on Radio Adelaide’s Back Story.