Once Climate Villains, Canada and Australia Could Become Allies After Coups

Leadership changes in two of the world's highest per-capita emitting countries have yielded potential new climate allies. Although this may come too late to affect what's on the table in Paris, it could play out beyond.

Justin Trudeau, Canada's new prime minister, unveiled a cabinet Wednesday (05.11.2015) that left climate campaigners across the world smiling.  As he was sworn in, Trudeau reassured Canadians that the days of "dirty Canada" under his predecessor, Stephen Harper, were over.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a leadership change in Australia has ushered in a similar wave of climate optimism just ahead of a pivotal United Nations climate summit in Paris this December.

Although not top emitters in absolute terms, the two countries have among the highest per-capita emissions in the world, due to heavy resource extraction.  They have also been among the most uncooperative developed countries on climate change in recent years.

Confident Canadians
On the day he was sworn in, Trudeau announced that for the first time, Canada will have a minister for climate change.  Additionally, the country's new foreign minister, Stephane Dion, is a former environment minister, and will head a new special cabinet committee on environment, climate change and energy.

"Canada is going to be a strong and positive actor on the world stage, including in Paris," Trudeau said....

Assuaged Aussies
Harper's defeat comes just a month after Australia's Tony Abbott, also a noted climate skeptic, was unseated as prime minister by a leadership challenge within his party.

These two men were seen as a "dastardly duo" by climate campaigners.  The European Union, which is pushing for an ambitious global agreement to cap emissions growth the COP21 summit in Paris, in particular had expressed frustration because these two commonwealth realms not long ago had center-left governments that cooperated closely with Brussels on climate.
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Abbott had crusaded against renewable energy - deriding wind farms as loud and ugly - and been a strong proponent of the massive Carmichael coal mine.  The administration recently gave the mine a green light, despite a federal court having blocked the project due to environmental concerns.

Abbott also pulled the plug on Australia's emissions trading scheme last year, only two years in.  The scheme was supposed to be the first one to partner with the EU's emissions trading scheme.

Abbott's replacement, Malcolm Turnbull, had attacked Abbott's climate policy, or lack thereof, and he supported the country's emissions trading system.  So far, Turnbull hasn't offered any new climate policies, and he says that for now, he will stick to his predecessor's plan.

But the change in tone has already had an effect.

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