Save us from our timid selves

And so the Rudd Government - backed by polling showing popular support for decisive action but spooked by business demanding stasis - begins the subtle process of intervening in the marketplace; placing a price on carbon through an Emissions Trading Scheme designed to promote renewable energy sources by putting a cap on carbon “pollution”.

The success of these measures will be determined by the government preparedness to continue to stare down the business arguments, that it can convince us that the cost of inaction is greater than the cost of action - that environmental Armageddon is too high a price to pay.

Which is where the authors of Break Through, a dynamic duo of career environmentalists turned heretics, come into play and argue the proposed market interventions of cap and trade schemes are not just inadequate, but counterproductive, if we are ever to adapt and meet the challenges of global warming.

Taking as a starting point Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, they make the basic point that a Doomsday narrative designed to scare the bejesus out of people will not lead to the required action. Instead, insecure people turn inwards, focusing on their own needs rather than the broader good. And by basis the Doomsday scenario around the idea of carbon “pollution” environmentalists risk setting themselves an insurmountable task - by attempting to “clean-up” when what is required is a more radical rethink of energy and consumption.

As the current technocratic, incremental debate over Garnaut unfolds it strikes me that what is missing is the possibilities of change beyond the mechanism. The debate is locked in the confines of how tough it will be; which industries will lose; who should be exempted from this pain.

Break Through’s alternative agenda for climate change is a positive paradigm shift that sees climate change as an economic challenge that creates as many opportunities as threats. In this model of economic change there may be losers, but there will be far more winners - particularly the economies that are first to grasp, innovate and develop the new energy models.

Instead of linking response to less activity or job-strangling mitigations, they call for new action in abatement initiatives to address the impact of the changes already occurring - building storm walls, rethinking water flows and preparing for the demographic shifts that will be required as the earth warms even if we take all the action we are told is needed now.

Alongside adaptation, they advocate bold, nation-building investments in renewables - a Marshall Plan investment that grasps the historical opportunities presented by the times. Here we are not talking about incremental steps but multi-billion investments in renewable technologies - driving markets that do not even exist and creating new jobs not even imagined.

For example, where is the government initiative to make Australia a world leader in a new emerging energy source - like solar or geo-thermal backed by a massive R&D commitment? Or a more humble Australian government initiative to insulate every house would deliver massive savings in energy efficiency and create thousands of solid blue collar jobs? While some industry sectors spread fear of job losses in a policy vacuum - big job creating initiatives would provide a cogent response.

In the words of the authors it’s the different between Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream speech” and the other speech, the one that could have been given - the “I have a Nightmare”. Which of these approaches better unlocked the hearts, the minds and the consciences of people to fundamentally change they way they viewed the world? When Tony Blair warned DAVOS of devastations in 2003 he never talked of the opportunities - and a moment for leadership passed.

One can quibble with the findings of both books - maybe Reich is too soft on the corporate, maybe the Break Through boys are failing to take on coal the way that climate warriors should, but that’s not really the point, both challenge is to take up positive agendas - to stop looking for enemies within the political process to fight but, rather lift our heads above the parapet and look at what the world can become.