New Prime Minister Could Signal a Change in Direction for Australia’s Climate Efforts

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who once publicly said “the climate change argument is absolute crap,” was defeated in a leadership battle Monday evening.

His replacement, Malcolm Turnbull, requested a Liberal Party leadership ballot to challenge Abbott amid flagging poll numbers.  In a vote of 54 to 44, Turnbull displaced Abbott as leader of the actually-conservative Liberal Party, meaning Turnbull became Australia’s 29th prime minister.

The question for many around the world is whether Turnbull will be more progressive on climate or energy policy than Abbott was.

In 2009, the Liberal Party was out of power and Turnbull lost his leadership position to Abbott by one vote, in part because of Turnbull’s support for a carbon emissions trading scheme.  At the time, the Labor Party was in power and making big strides on climate change, investing in renewable energy and instituting a carbon price.  Abbott helped to foment and then rode a backlash against the carbon price into power in 2013, winning a majority and a prime ministership with a catchy slogan:  “Axe the Tax.”

Giles Parkinson, editor of the Australian climate blog RenewEconomy, told ThinkProgress that Abbott’s ouster was “a blessed relief” because his policies were “dominated by a climate science denying far right.”

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