Fourteen years ago, on this day, November 8th, 2011,
The Clean Energy Package (CEP) passed the Senate on 8 November 2011 with the support of the Greens and a vote of 36:32, becoming law on 1 July 2012.57
(Crowley, 2013: 377)
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 394ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was – as per November 8, 1989 – the general principle of a price on carbon had been around for over two decades.
The specific context was – Julia Gillard was only Prime Minister because after the 2010 election she had managed to cut deals with enough independent MPs (and a Green) for a minority government. Those independents and the Green insisted that she legislate a carbon price. There followed an extraordinarily intense campaign of fear-mongering and character assassination, but eventually Gillard got the legislation through.
What I think we can learn from this – Australia is a quarry with a state attached. It’s a settler colony riven with white supremacism, petro-masculinity and anti-reflexivity. There is resistance to this, of course.
What happened next – the carbon price was abolished in 2014. Since then climate and energy policy has been a festering sore.
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.
Also on this day:
November 8, 1989 – ALP Minister says environmentalism a “middle-class fad” – “greenies” respond…
November 8, 1989 – Thatcher gives climate speech to UN General Assembly – All Our Yesterdays
November 8, 2013 – “One religion is enough” says John Howard