Australian Prime Minister Abbott’s fossil fuel celebration tour got even more surreal yesterday when he donned a cowboy hat in Texas. Abbott also offered up his long term view on the prospects for coal —he believes that it will fuel human progress for many decades to come. Meanwhile, here in Bonn, delegates were treated to a glimpse of what the world would look like if Abbott’s dystopia came to pass.
The topic was the melting of Antarctic ice sheets and the latest scientific findings that melting in massive areas of the polar region has recently passed a tipping point. Much of the Western Antarctic ice sheet is now melting and likely to contribute to devastating sea-level rise, a catastrophic consequence.
Abbott had better hold onto his hat tightly while riding the coal-power bull. He may be shouting “Yee-haw”in Texas at the moment but this crazy ride can only end with floods of tears.