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Former Australian climate change minister urges meaningful action

November 23, 2015

Wong expressed that for her to consider the Paris summit a success, countries across the world must agree to cut their carbon emissions s...
Wong expressed that for her to consider the Paris summit a success, countries across the world must agree to cut their carbon emissions so as to not surpass the two-degree cap in the future.
Senator Penny Wong, Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Senate and former Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water, joined the Penn Law community for a Critical Global Conversation in which she discussed her expectations for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) to be held in Paris.

By Sydney Adams C’18

On November 17, Senator Penny Wong, Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Senate and former Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water, joined the Penn Law community for a Critical Global Conversation in which she discussed her expectations for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) to be held in Paris this December. The event was sponsored by Penn Law’s Office of International Programs, the Penn Program on Regulation, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Wong began by recounting her disappointment when negotiations at the 2009 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen fell short of expectations and were deemed a failure. “I thought to myself, ‘This room can do anything.’ The political, economic, and strategic power assembled in that room could have delivered transformational change,” she said. But we failed to do so.”

It is generally accepted that warming of the Earth’s average surface temperature should not surpass two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in order to avoid significant environmental problems like storm surges, droughts, and other extreme weather events that would be especially detrimental for countries reliant on agriculture.

Wong expressed that for her to consider the Paris summit a success, countries across the world must agree to cut their carbon emissions so as to not surpass the two-degree cap in the future.

“The gap of what we need to do and what we are doing is in many ways widening,” she explained. Wong expressed that the deadline for meaningful climate change mitigation is fast approaching, and that there still has not been any significant multilateral action to reduce carbon emissions.

Wong added that what makes global agreement on climate change legislation so difficult is the question of economic justice raised by developing nations. “The presumption that higher carbon intensity equates to economic development drives the positions of nation states,” she said.

“These are understandable assumptions, given humanity’s experience with economic development but as long as these assumptions endure, the world will struggle to achieve an effective global response,” she continued.

However, the global community has not yet abandoned the idea that carbon intensity is equated to economic success. “The climate change dilemma, both in its genesis and in its mitigation, has significant implications for equity,” noted Wong. “In the eyes of developing nations, they are being asked to curtail the economic growth that is lifting their people out of poverty.”

“Discussions about mitigation techniques, reduction commitment, adaptation, and finance repeatedly revert to a debate about past and present economic justice,” she said. For meaningful agreement to be achieved, not only should the world adjust its understanding of development, but also world leaders should shift the framework of their negotiations.

“Vague assertions about green jobs do not suffice when political leaders are confronting the realities of poverty, employment, housing, and health needs,” said Wong. “Ultimately, achieving an effective global agreement requires more than political will. It requires a tangible, real pathway for promoting carbon development.”

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