Australia Called 'Worst Polluter' In The World: Lack of Climate Action Criticised

Australia was named as the "dirtiest country" in the developed world. In an article titled "The Saudi Arabia of the South Pacific" by U.S.-based tech magazine Future Tense that was published at Slate.com, it described how the country is the worst polluter in the world and referred to the Abbott government's decision to repeal the carbon tax.

The article said Australians "like to think themselves as green." Australia elected a party and prime minister in 2007 riding on a "pro-climate platform" with a pledge to sign the Kyoto Protocol and implement wide environmental reforms. The article criticised the Australian government for throwing this sentiment out the window seven years later.

Reports have said that Brisbane is preparing to host the G20 summit in November. The article claims the Abbott government is planning to wield its power to remove climate change off the agenda. It also tagged Australia as having the highest carbon emissions per capita among major developed countries in the world. The authors did not forget to mention the repealed decision of dumping coal mine dredge near the UNESCO heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef.

The authors also mentioned the government's plan to allow logging operations in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. They went on to say Australia is beautiful, but it can be harsh living in the land because it is usually in drought. When the streams are not "bone dry", they are flooding. They said the natural disasters in Australia were being worsened by global warming.

The authors are hoping that current government's policies related to the environment were only a "temporary bout of insanity." Prime Minister Tony Abbott had promised to repeal the carbon tax during his election campaign in 2013. The tax that was introduced by the previous Labour government, was finally repealed in July. Mr Abbott plans to replace carbon tax with his Direct Action Plan using incentives to encourage industries to use clean energy.

In the UN Climate Summit in New York, the prime minister has lauded the country's "lead-by-example" approach and mentioned the greatest challenges facing the world except the issue of climate change.