Posted by John, October 12th, 2009 - under The Greens.

Tags: Australian politics, Capitalism, Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Environment, ETS, Fighting back

The Greens have proposed amendments to the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme which expose Labor for the environmental hypocrites they are.

The Greens would replace the ALP’s pathetic five percent reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2020 with a 25 percent reduction, and move to 40 percent if there is agreement at Copenhagen, compared to the Government’s 25 percent in those circumstances.

There are some other amendments too. The Greens would auction all carbon permits rather than give the polluters between 70 and 95 percent of their permits free of charge.

They’d compensate trade-exposed industries only for the value of their lost competitiveness – not lost profits .

They’d give no compensation to electricity generators.

Their Safe Climate Bill released today goes further.

It commits Australia to a target of 350 parts per million of CO2, a result serious climate scientists like James Hansen from NASA say is essential now to save the planet from catastrophic climate change – ‘fast-feedback’.

The level currently is 390 ppm, and growing by 2 ppm every year.

Rudd’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme aims for a ‘manageable’ 450 to 550 ppm.

The Greens’ Bill includes other measures. As they say, it

introduces a suite of measures aimed at achieving 100% renewable energy in Australia in the coming decades; introduces a suite of measures to upgrade all of Australia’s homes, offices and industry for energy efficiency; establishes the pathway to a sustainable transport future; protects and builds our carbon stores in forests and soils; and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs in making this transformation a reality.

The last point is the most important for workers. They want to save the planet and jobs.

While I disagree with the idea that the market can solve the problems the market created, I can count.

So can the Greens. They have no chance of negotiating these amendments with the Rudd Labor Government successfully – they are two Senators short.

The solution?

The Greens should build and lead a mass movement on the streets and in the workplaces and schools and universities to force Rudd to make the CPRS better.

The victories of the past have been wrested from the grasping hands of capital through mass mobilisations and strikes, not negotiating from a position of social weakness.

Most importantly the Greens could begin a real campaign for green jobs, green jobs, green jobs. The working class wants climate security and job security and the Greens need to convince us their plans don’t destroy jobs.

The argument is simple.

If we do nothing there won’t be an economy, let alone jobs.

If we adopt Labor’s CPRS, there won’t be an economy, let alone jobs.

Only a fight for the future, for green jobs in renewable energy, in retrofitting houses, in a radical restructuring of energy provision can save the environment and jobs.

The costs will be much less than the wars we are involved in and the Defence machine that supports them.

The benefits will be a green healthy economy with jobs, jobs and more jobs.

But the Greens won’t mobilise people. They won’t lead.

Their orientation is change from above, not change from below.

So they see negotiation, discussion and the like in Parliament as the ultimate goal and the failure to win parliamentary support the end of the story.

On the other hand, the majority of people, especially young people, think the major parties aren’t acting fast enough on global warming.

Imagine how a militant radical campaign for green jobs could ignite society, drawing in hundreds of thousands and actually having a chance of winning and gaining the Greens even more support.

Put your faith in us, Greens, not Rudd.