Australian PM defends climate policies as cooler weather helps firefighters

 

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fire conditions eased on some of the major fronts burning across Australia on Sunday after a cool weather change, with firefighters trying to contain blazes before the expected return of hotter conditions at the end of the week.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters in Sydney, after returning on Saturday night from a holiday in Hawaii that drew sharp criticism as the wildfires crisis in his home state deepened.

 

After the deaths of two firefighters Thursday night, Morrison announced he would return home early, and on Sunday he acknowledged his holiday had caused anxiety.

 

"I get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress," Morrison said.

 

He also addressed his conservative Liberal-National coalition's climate policies, which his government has been forced to defend following the severity of this year's bushfires. Morrison said there was no argument that there is a link between climate change and weather events around the world.

 

"But I’m sure people would equally acknowledge the direct connection to any single fire event is not a credible suggestion to make that link," Morrison told journalists.

 

Earlier this month, Australia drew criticism at a U.N. climate summit in Madrid for its climate-change policy of using old carbon credits to count towards future emissions targets.

 

Australia is one of the world’s largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants. It has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 26% from 2005 levels by 2030, but critics accuse Morrison of paying lip service to that commitment.

 

Morrison recommitted to those policies, which he took to a general election in May, on Sunday.

 

FORECAST FOR FIRES

 

The intensity of fires eased overnight in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia states, where fires had been burning out of control on Friday and Saturday as a combination of extreme heat and strong winds created "catastrophic" conditions in some areas.

 

"We have still got an enormous amount of fire burning in the landscape," NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said, adding that the spreading fires in the Blue Mountains area around 100 km (62 miles) west of Sydney would be a significant focus for fire crews. "We've seen widespread damage and destruction being reported across a number of these fire grounds, and we've got impact assessment teams already deployed into the field this morning."

 

More than 105 fires were still burning across NSW on Sunday, with 59 considered uncontained and one burning at an emergency level.

 

Dozens of properties were reported damaged or destroyed. A man who had been unaccounted for early Sunday after staying on Saturday to protect his property was later found safe.

 

"Today is thankfully expected to be much cooler for large sections of NSW, which will be a welcome reprieve. However, many communities away from the coast will still experience significant heat," the Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet.

 

Conditions are expected to remain favourable over coming days and firefighters will work to contain some of the firefronts near communities, particularly in the Blue Mountains region to the west of Sydney.

 

Australia has been fighting wildfires for months as hot, dry conditions created an early start to the fire season, with blazes destroying more than 700 homes and nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of bushland.

 

Smoke from bushfires prompted match officials to abandon Saturday's Big Bash League cricket match in Canberra over what they called "dangerous and unreasonable playing conditions".

 

(Reporting by John Mair in Sydney and Will Ziebell in Melbourne; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-22

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he could always present the 1880-1906 temperature record

to show this is a cyclical phenomena that man has no control over

35 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

But I’m sure people would equally acknowledge the direct connection to any single fire event is not a credible suggestion to make that link," Morrison told journalists.

You should have done some reading while on holiday mr Morrison. 
 

https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented

Since 2009 to 2019 we have had 5 Prime Minsters , Is our new Prime Minster Mr Munster going the next one to leave and join the club

4 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

You should have done some reading while on holiday mr Morrison. 
 

https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented

Why on earth would a centre right PM want to read a far left publication?

19 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Why on earth would a centre right PM want to read a far left publication?

To call the Guardian far left is the sure sign of “rabid right wing rabies”. 

Lol, no doubt you also delude yourself that you are not left, or centre left.  Most Guardian advocates do.

20 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Lol, no doubt you also delude yourself that you are not left, or centre left.  Most Guardian advocates do.

Oh I’m “hard left” on many issues and never hidden I am so. 

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

 

 

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Oh I’m “hard left” on many issues and never hidden I am so. 

Good on you for owning it.  So many don't.

 

you might find this podcast interesting.  About 12 minutes from a scientist with bushfire expertise about the actual main human issue responsible for the scale of these latest fires.

 

https://www.2gb.com/podcast/scientist-david-packham-on-whats-really-causing-the-bushfires/?fbclid=IwAR3LF0PJwrQ-rBB8ciAJQcOB7lXqkvzMt_eoEDS99MgQzgtO8m-LSmhizUw

 

The bloody geenies stopped the cattle in Victorian high country , hence more fuel to burn .

Stay the course Australia, do not go back to the Cash Cow Carbon Tax.

Just look at the dictator Trudeau of Canada, and realize that he won't be in power

much longer.

Geezer

On 12/22/2019 at 9:27 AM, brokenbone said:

he could always present the 1880-1906 temperature record

to show this is a cyclical phenomena that man has no control over

...and that they had big fires (12 dead) back in 1851. Called Black Thursday or something. Way before coal fired power stations or cars or...or... 

On 12/22/2019 at 2:01 PM, rhyddid said:

Since a prime minister, a citizen, a country, still defend to coal-fired power plants, they will not have hope to make a better world for they children, themselves and fellow citizens.

If Australia were to close down all its coal-fired plants, the impact on the climate would be negligible. Except, of course, the climate of public opinion - which is all that really matters to the self-serving political classes greenwashing their tardy reputations.

 

The loudest voices braying for a ban on coal and other fossil fuels typically emanate from those wealthy Western societies which have benefited most from their use. 

 

An inconvenient truth about climate apocalypse propagandist Al Gore is that he makes a bigger carbon footprint in a week than that of a rural African in a year. The same can be said for many celebrities who parrot the same politically-motivated alarmist propaganda.

 

Of course we should seek to preserve our planet for future generations by all means possible. But not, surely at the expense of millions of our fellow humans in the Third World, who need cheap energy to save them from lives of deprivation, disease and early death.

Edited December 25, 20196 yr by Krataiboy