Thirty six years ago, on this day, January 24th, 1989, an Australian Federal Minister calls it like it is.
“Weather fluctuations and the greenhouse are topics of current real concern as media coverage demonstrates. For example, in The Australian of 24 January 1989, the Minister for Resources, Senator Cook, was reported to have called for active co-operation among Asian countries in developing practical ways to minimize the threatening greenhouse effect. He said: “The greenhouse effect is an environmental issue of global dimensions…. It is not simply an energy issue. The challenge for energy policy makers is to assess the range of possibilities that would make an appropriate contribution to reducing the greenhouse effect.”
(Henderson-Sellers and Blong, 1989:3)
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 353ppm. As of 2025 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was that since late 1988 Australian society had been talking up “the Greenhouse Effect”, thanks in large part to a Commission for the Future/CSIRO effort (Greenhouse 87 and Greenhouse 88). The Hawke Government had been making the right noises too, while also, obviously, seeking to flog more coal overseas.
What I think we can learn from this is that governments are always a bunch of cats in a sack, with motivations pulling in all directions.
What happened next
By early 1990 the fossil interests had decided this wasn’t a passing fad, and that they had better bring their A-game. Their A-game wasn’t all that good, but it was enough, in large part because Paul Keating became Prime Minister in December 1991.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
References
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Also on this day:
January 24, 1967 – Senior British scientist says “by no means can (C02) report be dismissed as science fiction”…
January 24, 1984 – Canadian TV documentary and discussion about #climate