Yes, but the people who live in the environment, pay the bills — and vote — do.
Also keep in mind that the wealthiest societies have the cleanest environments.
ABC (Australia) interviews Aussie climate change minister Mark Butler:
CHRIS UHLMANN: So how will a carbon price of six dollars drive any investment away from coal fired power?
MARK BUTLER: That ultimately will be up to business. At the end of the day from the environment’s point of view, the environment doesn’t care about the price being paid. The environment cares about the quantum of carbon pollution being spewed into the atmosphere. The essence of an emissions trading scheme from the environment’s point of view is that there will be caps every year reducing on the carbon pollution that can be put into the atmosphere from Australia. What the price ends up being that business is paying to participate in that process will ultimately be a matter for business. Alongside that what we’ve got to do is to have in place a suite of policies that boost renewable energy sources and you will notice from the savings exercise we went through that we were able completely to quarantine all of our renewable energy projects so that we continue to see solar power and wind power increases a share of the national electricity market. They increase by a share of over 25 per cent only last year. We’d like to see that continue.
Gaia isn’t all that worked up about CO2 emissions either. (More confirmation that we never left the “The Gods will be angry with us if we don’t do what I say” models of the past.)