Scott Morrison’s response to questions about the link between catastrophic fires and climate change is right.

Right in a narrow, technical sense which only serves to emphasise how wrong he is.

The prime minister is right that Australia only contributes a small proportion of global carbon emissions, though an honest figure is closer to 3.6 % rather than the 1.3 % he is so fond of quoting.

He is right that if Australia stopped burning coal tomorrow and transitioned to a zero-emission economy next week, the forests would still burn, the pastures and crops would still wither, the stock would still starve, the corals would still bleach and the coasts would still be battered by storms and surges.

We know this.

We know that Morrison can’t grab his hose and put out the fires. But we also know that a plumber who skips a Friday afternoon job to pick up the kids is not the same as a prime minister who skips the country for a holiday during an escalating disaster. To make this comparison is to insult all those paid and volunteer emergency workers who sacrifice their family life to protect the communities they serve.

Prime minister, you need a credible climate policy. It's too dangerous to keep pretending you have one | Lenore Taylor Read more

We know that the climate crisis is a global problem. We know that the gigatonnes of greenhouse gases already emitted have locked the world into terrifying future, and that, as a country of “drought and flooding rains” Australia is particularly at risk.

We know all these things.

And we know that Morrison’s patronising response to this catastrophe only confirms that he doesn’t understand the question Australia is asking.

Australians aren’t asking for miracles – we’re begging for leadership.

We are begging for leadership on the national stage. This must start with an honest acknowledgement of the problem. An unqualified admission that we are facing a climate crisis and that we must act.

We are begging for leadership stripped of hubris. Leadership that is willing to seek and acknowledge the expertise of scientists, engineers, land managers, economists, emergency services chiefs and health professionals. Leadership that is willing to use that expertise to develop strategies to mitigate the crisis.

We are begging for leadership stripped of political partisanship that will reach across the aisle and seek common ground and national unity.

We are begging for leadership that is courageous enough to tell us the truth. We know that taking effective action will involve costs. But it could also bring opportunities.

Australia is fortunate to be well-endowed with renewable resources and technological expertise. With government leadership and support, the transition to a zero-carbon economy could benefit our economy in the medium term and generate much-needed regional jobs.

We are begging for leadership on the international stage. The crisis facing Australia’s farms, forests, coasts and vulnerable ecosystems can only be addressed in the long term if there is meaningful global action.

I am a volunteer firefighter. Yes, we 'want to be here', Scott Morrison – but there are limits | Geoff Goldrick Read more

A government that truly wants to help our firefighters and farmers must lead the fight for a global response. But a government which pleads for special treatment and resorts to dodgy accounting to meet woefully inadequate commitments has no international credibility.

A government whose policies are ranked among the world’s worst carries no moral authority. And without that moral authority the government has no clout to advance the only long-term solution to this crisis – an international framework for the rapid decarbonisation of the global economy.

Instead of leading, Morrison hides behind the marketing strategy of a boldfaced lie which he hopes will be miraculously self-fulfilling if it is repeated often enough. The lie that Australia is leading the world in mitigation and will meet its international obligations at a canter.

Let’s be brutally honest. A specious argument about Australia’s past emissions completely misses the point. Right now, at the advent of 2020, despite our natural and technological advantages, Australia is one of the world’s highest per-capita emitters of greenhouse gases.

Regardless of the past, this single, verifiable fact places a moral obligation on Australia to be a world leader when it comes to emissions reduction. Instead Australia wilfully obstructs effective international action and provides cover for other countries to do likewise.

Can Morrison's 'she'll be right' strategy on climate work forever? | Katharine Murphy Read more

The great tragedy of this lack of leadership is the opportunity squandered. Australia has squandered the international authority it gained as a progressive force in the postwar years. Australia has squandered the opportunity to be a global leader in the industries of the future. Australia has squandered the opportunity to protect its people from an increasingly hostile future.

All of this to protect the interests of fossil industries who have known for decades that their accumulating wealth is literally costing the Earth.

Australia is facing a crisis. This scorching summer has given us a glimpse of a frightening future. It has also exposed the failings of the hyperpartisan politics that increasingly mocks our system of representative democracy.

The question Australia is asking Scott Morrison is not whether an effective climate policy will extinguish the fires.

The question is whether he can show the leadership necessary to unite us and take the difficult decisions required to avoid the greater catastrophe that these horrific fires portend.

Dr Geoff Goldrick is a scientist, educator and volunteer firefighter



