Abbott shirt-fronted by climate change reality

Michael Gordon  Political editor, The Age

In the end, Tony Abbott was the one shirt-fronted at the G20 summit, not by the cunning Vladimir Putin or even the charismatic Barack Obama, but by reality.

The growth pact sealed after two days of public and private power plays is truly remarkable, but much of the lustre was lost by the perception of a leader and a government in denial on the scale of the climate change challenge.

Make no mistake. The growth agreement is historic on two counts: the first time the world's richest economies have committed themselves to a specific growth target – and an ambitious one at that – and the first time they have been prepared to have their approaches scrutinised by independent bodies.

 Abbott characterised it, it is an agreement that will make people around the world better off – provided, of course, countries deliver on their commitments.

It also sets a promising precedent by delivering on the promise to reduce the usual, rambling, acronym-laden and aspirational declarations of these meetings to three pages of clear commitments.

Among the most laudable, and overdue, is the agreement to reduce the gap on participation in the workforce by men and women by 25 per cent by 2025.

The next step would be to subject this agreement to the same external scrutiny as the growth target.

But climate change, not economic growth, was the subject that captured imagination on the summit sidelines and, for too log, Abbott sent a defensive signal that it was simply not a priority for discussion.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "the defining challenge of our times". Turkey's prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, (who will chair next year's summit), dubbed "the biggest challenge to all humanity today". And Obama delivered his clarion call to young Australians to make their voices heard.

Yet the climate change reference in the declaration was squeezed in at number 19 of 21 paragraphs and the endorsement of the Green Climate Fund being championed by Obama was equivocal.

It's pro forma nature was evident in Abbott's mention afterwards: "Obviously, it goes without saying that G20 leaders, all of us, support strong and effective action to address climate change."

The invitation to countries to submit their action plans by the first quarter of next year poses an awkward question for Abbott's government: what will it do if the global consensus supports action beyond what it has legislated (and budgeted)?

Certainly, the response to Obama's address to university students on Saturday by Abbott's colleagues was churlish. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop impugned the President's motives by suggesting he was "thinking about his legacy", while Treasurer Joe Hockey intimated that climate change was not an impediment to growth.

The true value of what has been agreed on the sweeping economic agenda will be reflected in what happens now. Will countries deliver on their commitments?

The domestic political value to Abbott is another question. History suggests hosting so many powerful leaders was never going to deliver an immediate political dividend.

Chairing the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum didn't help John Howard in 2007. Hosting Obama did little to assist Julia Gillard in 2011.

For Abbott, the justified kudos for leading the G20 to a landmark pact on growth will be offset by the perception that he is out of step with his peers on the issue of our time.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/g20/abbott-shirtfronted-by-climate-change-reality-20141116-11nt4y.html#ixzz3JGQUpa7u