World must face up to cost of carbon reductions, says European climate expert

(guardian-, 26 Aug 2015) Former European commissioner Connie Hedegaard agrees with Tony Abbott that wind turbines are not ‘beautiful’, but calls power plants ‘visually awful’.

The former European commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard has urged countries to acknowledge the cost of reducing emissions to fight climate change, and called on politicians to shift away from short-term thinking.

Speaking at the City of Sydney’s CityTalks 2015 on Tuesday, Hedegaard urged action to reduce emissions in the lead-up to the Paris climate conference in December.

“It’s extremely important to acknowledge it’s not for free to make this sort of change. But neither is continuing business as usual,” she said.

“Either we pay as consumers or we pay as taxpayers. How we split the burden, that’s of course a very different political discussion. We must tell people it is going to cost.”

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guardian-, 26 Aug 2015: World must face up to cost of carbon reductions, says European climate expert