In 2007, Australia suffered its worst drought in a century. Voters woke up to the threat of climate change and elected a government that changed course.
 | Dry Times Down UnderAn old fencepost once covered by an artificial lake south of Canberra is exposed during a drought in June 2007, the worst on record (Photo: Reuters) |
Australia has been suffering its worst drought in 100 years. The most populated areas of the country, the south and the southeast, have been the most severely affected with the critical Murray-Darling River basin in crisis.
As the driest inhabited continent on the planet became even drier, Australians began to rethink their government's position on climate change.
 | Picture Gallery (click the image to start)See how biodiversity protects against the impacts of climate change (Photo: Reuters) |
Australia has the highest per capita emissions of greenhouse gases in the world, the major cause being coal-fired electricity generation. Under the eleven-year premiership of John Howard, coal remained pre-eminent in Australian energy policy. Howard took a sceptical view of climate change science, joining the U.S. administration in its steadfast refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
In November 2007, Howard was unseated by Kevin Rudd in a general election that featured climate change as a key issue. Rudd’s first move as Prime Minister was the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, making the United States the only industrialized country to not ratify the climate treaty.
Greater awareness of climate change among Australian voters helped persuade politicians to tackle the problem. When American voters go to the polls to elect a new president in November 2008, widespread frustration about America’s current climate change policies might prove equally influential.
editor: James Tulloch
publishing date: January 3, 2008
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