At the G20, Tony Abbott as "leader" of Australia as the hosting nation, when cornered , spoke about all countries wanting “to take strong and effective action against climate change”, achieved in ways “which build our growth and particularly strengthen our employment because that in the end is what it’s all about.” [3]

 The climate scientists have different ideas. The level of carbon emissions reductions in developed nations required to achieve a 'safe' climate may be as much as 8-10% a year starting from now.  Here, 'relative safety' is defined as not going past what is now thought to be very dangerous levels of warming of 2 degrees C. [1]

The carbon emissions pact between China and USA are a public admission of the great need, but do not go near reaching the reduction targets required by climate science prediction and math. None of the G20 are going to reduce their military spending as a proportion of GDP, to invest in renewable energy. The chances of conflict ramping up seem to be certain, over the battle for more fossil fuels, when there are already 3 times as much reserves available to reach our extinction targets. For instance, look at the figures for our 'puny' Australian defence budget.

. . . The Budget includes a total of $436.8 million in 2014-15 and $669.4 million across the Forward Estimates for the continuation of Operations in the Middle East, enhanced border security under Operation RESOLUTE, the provision of ADF support to the November summit of G20 leaders in Brisbane, and the Defence contribution to the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. . . .[6]

This is small fry for total defence spending, and the total defence budget for Australia is 2014-15 is about $29.3 billion, with further large expenditures planned on aquisition of big ticket items of  jet fighters (58 planes for $12 billion minimum). Or replacing those Collins class submarines which we didn't get working properly, and which we haven't needed yet. This sort of spending would help the Zero Carbon Australia plan  take Australia to 100% renewable energy over 10-20 years.[7] This would more than increase Australia's security and energy dependence, much more than by bombing ISIS out-fits in the Middle East. Not mention the documented jobs, infrastructure, fossil fuel savings, economic growth and carbon emissions savings this achieves.  Such misallocation and wasting of money is multiplied a into trillions of dollars by the USA military empire, of which we are compliant part of. All the goals of G20 can be achieved in one transition to renewable energy package. Instead the alliance of the USA is spending hundreds of billions to bomb their energy insecurity and carbon emissions access into submission. Such are the final moments of human civilization.

We are running out of the most economically accessible resources, such that global economic growth and fossil fuel supply may be absolutely constrain each other. Gail Tverberg at ourfiniteworld.com has documented the scenario, or possibly the last hope for human kind, and our fellow contemporary species. We are approaching global economic collapse, because of EROI and networked dependencies. This may happen soon and limits our ability to kill everything. Our G20 leaders appear to be even more oblivious of that possibility. Limits to growth predicts that the combined effects of global pollution and resource depletion will bite our civilizations ever harder and deeper over the next decades, but undocumented networked links between and within national economies may bring this about sooner [4].

Then the behaviour of politicians becomes more understandable. They are trying to keep the economy going, because it is a hollow networked ball, a fragile thing that depends on a profit on every link.  When it starts to shrink, it will collapse, like the giant 'bubble' that it is. The entire G20 meeting has been an exercise in the denial for the necessity of, and fear of, inevitable economic collapse. Tony Abbott's words that emphasize sacrificing everything on the altar of business profitability makes sense in the light of fear and denial of collapse.  But please remember, he wants to sacrifice "Everything". The longer we put off our global economic collapse, the more Nature also procedes to irreversible collapse for a duration and end of a geologic age. The end result could be 2/3 of species gone by the end of this century.[8] Death is part of life, but the end of new birth is final until the end of time.

After collapse, humans again once become the sport of nature, when they cannot combine easily to use the energy and material resources of the world to upset nature's balance.

At the moment our economic growth rates can take us past 4 degrees of warming by the end of this century. Cummulative global carbon emissions are the most certain predictor for our climate results.

If Australia is  to have economic growth of 2% defined in terms of GDP,  to achieve the 'safety' de-carbonization goal as a developed nation, our carbon intensity must be now falling by 10-12%. Clearly this is impossible, especially when the Australian government cannot see its way to close even one brown coal power station, even when it says it has a surplus of renewable energy supply of 9,000 GWh to last for about a decade. Government policy to shrink the Renewable Energy Target of 41,000 GWh, indicates that its target goal of decarbonisation for the Australian Economy is actually a negative figure.

The only way possible now, for Australia to build our growth and strengthen our employment, and take strong and effective action against climate change, is to invest heavily in renewable energy. This of course, means abandoning Australia government plans for the expansion of the coal mining and export industry.Fortunately thats only about 1% of our economy, and even less for employment, and a growth in the local renewable energy industry could quickly replace that.

To treasurer Joe Hockey, there is simply no contradiction. As usual he points to China's rising emissions, instead of China's efforts in renewable energy. [2]  At the same time all our local hick politicians tout the "Free trade agreement" with China as going to benefit Australia so much, with mutual growth and mutual trade in rising carbon emissions. It is a true denialist pairing of nations for our times. China's purpose in renewable energy investment is also motivated by the terrible air quality of their cities caused by coal and oil burning, and density of population and development. The lesson must be that the pollution density of large urban conglomerations hits an upper limit in time and space on fossil fuel burning and unsustainable resource use. In any case, China has made its intention to cut coal burning absolutely clear. [5]

Australia must now be the laughing stock of the climate reality world. Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey deserve to be clapped in the humiliation stocks every day.

[1] http://kevinanderson.info/blog/avoiding-dangerous-climate-change-demands-de-growth-strategies-from-wealthier-nations/
No one can fault the climate science or the maths. The only recourse is to deny it and hide it.

[2] http://www.smh.com.au/business/g20/climate-change-is-no-impediment-to-economic-growth-says-joe-hockey-20141116-11nlzs.html
Joe Hockey denies the economic growth climate change conumdrum.

[3] http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/11/17/the-pathology-of-parochialism/
Binoy Kampmark fearless on describing the real hicks at the G20.

[4] https://gailtheactuary.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/tverberg-energy-and-the-economy-12-basic-principles-final.pdf
The hollow networked growing economy.

[5] http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/g20-reveals-tony-abbotts-climate-change-denial-is-complete-75225
Giles Parkinson comments on the potential end to our Australian governments coal fetish.

 [6] http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2014/05/13/minister-for-defence-budget-2014-15-defence-budget-overview/
What we spend for energy and economic security on defence.

[7] http://bze.org.au/
Real plans for climate and energy security.

[8] Human Dependence on Nature : Haydn Washington.