‘Cognitive dissonance’ is a mental phenomenon in which one person holds fundamentally conflicting views.
Another Conference of the Parties (COP) ends badly, without a mention of ‘fossil fuels’.
It seems we are still in the first stage of grieving: denial.
The Australian economy has a fundamental conflict of interest.
How we can cut our carbon emissions to ‘net zero’, while at the same time being one of the world’s biggest exporters of fossil fuels?
This fundamental dissonance has been with us for decades, but this current financial year will be a time of reckoning.
It is the first year Australia (and all other nations) are obliged to account for emissions that result from fossil fuels sold here and burned overseas, which we profit enormously from. These are known as ‘Scope 3 emissions.’
In 2024, coal, gas and oil exports added $334 billion to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.83 trillion.
That’s a massive chunk of our nation’s wealth.
This explains why our government keeps allowing new coal and gas developments, and at the same time doing their best to cut emissions to net zero.
It’s a real ethical dilemma.
At some point, we have to say ‘Enough!’, because we can’t be good global citizens if our fossil fuels keep polluting our Earth’s precious biosphere, and driving us toward ever more extreme weather events. We just have to leave it in the ground.
But there is a silver lining: in 60,000 years we enter the next ice age, and we’ll need to burn all the fossil fuels we can get our hands on to keep from icing over.
The trouble is, most people don’t think we’ll still be around in 60,000 years – which is a sad commentary on our collective denial (and lack of action).
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
