Can Kevin Rudd Protect Australia’s Climate Change and Renewable Energy Policy?

For new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, climate change is the greatest environmental, moral and economic challenge of our time. At least this was true when he defeated John Howard back in 2007 in the general election.

Kevin Rudd's staff has barely settled in the Prime Ministerial Lodge when Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol which John Howard regarded as useless since China and the US does not support it. In 2010, it was Rudd's failure to enact an emissions trading scheme that helped Julia Gillard rose to power as new Labor party leader and Prime Minister.

Liberal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott kept challenging Gillard and her party to develop a strong policy on climate change. However, it was Gillard with the support of Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, who managed to make modified carbon pricing into law last 2011. The law was enforced in the middle of 2012 and it was already considered a great achievement towards improving climate change policy.

Now that Gillard and Combet are no longer around to maintain a strong climate change policy, Kevin Rudd has yet to announce the name of the new climate change minister after Rudd won the caucus vote.

When Kevin Rudd made his acceptance speech, he did not utter a single word about climate change. The subject was only mentioned after Tony Abbott pledged that his party will eliminate carbon tax if he won the election.

Uncertainties in climate change and renewable energy policies

One of the only few certainties concerning climate change policy in Australia is the goal of cutting carbon emissions by five per cent based on levels in 2000. Both Labor and Opposition parties agreed to this but the modified carbon pricing was questioned from all sides.

Climate change is one of the most toxic issues dividing Australian politics. It is also full of uncertainty especially now that Kevin Rudd is back as Prime Minister of Australia. Last week in Sydney, supporters of climate change policies have expressed their fears regarding the Liberal government's stance on climate change and renewable energy. The Liberal Party has earlier announced it will remove the Department of Climate Change once they win the election.

It remains to be seen at this point whether Kevin Rudd will follow the example of US President Obama who has pledged to bypass Congress to address climate change.