On this day, October 16 in 1997, Australian businessman Hugh Morgan, executive director of Western Mining Company, speaking on ABC radio, claimed that climate change was no longer an issue.
“Also, in responding to Senator Parer’s comments regarding the “Club of Rome” reported in The SMH on 14.3.97, both BHP Limited and CRA Limited executives were reported to confirm their commitment to environmental performance. The CRA Limited executive made it clear that his company considered climate change a serious issue. In contrast to this, on 16.10.97 Hugh Morgan, the Executive Director of Western Mining Company Ltd. stated the change in the science indicated that the experiment test of climate change had not been met which implied that climate change was no longer an issue (ABC radio news, AM program).”
(Duncan, 1997:84)
[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 360.98ppm. At time of writing it was 421ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]
The context was this –
Australian business had mobilised strongly and successfully in the early 1990s against the threat of a carbon tax. The new threat was that international pressure at the upcoming Kyoto conference might lead to the Australian government accepting actual cuts in emissions. Prime Minister John Howard was moving heaven and earth to avoid this, and doubtless was pleased when Hugh Morgan came out with this.
Morgan was an old-fashioned culture warrior, who had previously said Aborigines had practiced cannibalism etc etc. The stuff he came out with in the 70s and 80s was just wild.
His consigliere, Ray Evans, was already neck deep in co-ordinating international anti-climate collaboration, with US denialists. Evans was later a founder of the misnamed “Lavoisier Group.”
Why this matters.
Let’s remember who has been working hard to stop anything being done about climate change, yes?
What happened next?
Australia got a sweet sweet deal at Kyoto and STILL didn’t ratify.