Here come the winners in the carbon tax debate

Melbourne Herald Sun, Friday July 15, 2011

The winners have already started emerging from the carbon tax debate - and as usual, it’s the advertising agencies.

The slush funds are stirring on both sides. The Say Yes coalition already made a stir recently with their commercials featuring two of our favourite actors, Cate Blanchett (right) and Michael Caton.

Ironically they were attacked as being too rich to understand the pain we would feel. Now of course they will also suffer the pain of being too rich to attract any compensation.

The Government also has its own $12 million carbon tax campaign in production, soon to launch. Up against it is a coalition of miners and manufacturers. The Australian Trade and Industry Alliance brings together the likes of the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Coal Association - who have already spent $10 million to date.

Of course we already know that none of this is going to make any difference. The carbon tax is here to stay even if the opposition win the next election. On victory night Tony Abbot would announce that “Finally this cruel carbon tax is gone and dusted.” And then a week later he’ll be announcing “Australia’s exciting new carbon trading scheme...” or whatever name the spinners will invent for it.

The point being that we have to do something, to be seen to strive against the calamity coming at us, even though the reality is that we have very little real control.

Our planet is getting hotter, and there’s little we can do. Cutting emissions to 2000 levels is not a big deal - there was a hell of a lot of carbon emitted in 2000, and for that matter 1980. And I’m sure you’ve heard of London’s pea-souper smogs in the century up to 1960 - so we’re probably already too late.

However, putting a price on carbon and cutting emissions will make us feel better and we can pretend we actually have some say in the process. But unless there is some truly revolutionary technology devised in the next few years that can spectacularly slash our emissions, we’ll just be tinkering around the edges.

Interestingly, already this week we are seeing attitudes change. Geothermal companies like South Australia’s Petratherm that aims to generate electricity from volcanic rocks, or Victoria’s Greenearth Energy that promises to turn carbon dioxide into fuel, have instantly seen their share price lift its head. All this promise of a new major industry just around the corner is not mere fantasy.

Shakespeare talks of “a tide in the affairs of men” that sweeps all before it. So it is with our politicians and their pretences.

The fact is that the tow-current of world events is far far stronger than any feeble government we can elect.

The United States is going to be swamped by the tide of unbelievable debt and its blind inability to create an equitable society, as the greedy keep getting greedier. Europe is at a loss with its newest Greek tragedy and, yet again, the unwillingness to bite that bitter lead bullet.

The Chinese and Indians have taken their feet off the brakes on their downhill racers, and are hoping that whatever is at the bottom, the landing will be soft.

Here, our politicians strut the bridge of the ship of state, barking out orders, consulting their sextants, and pretending to steer.

Whereas the reality is that they are being dragged along behind, by national and global movements - economics, history, nature, the tides of events - that they have no control over whatsoever.

But there’s no point in you and I worrying ourselves silly - it were ever thus and always will be. Let’s enjoy the sparring matches, and carry on with business as usual.

ray@ebeatty.com