Good news, people!!!!!

Australia's answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peter Costello, has embraced an international carbon trading scheme. Today on ABC he opined:

"I think the ground is changing," he told ABC television.

"... and I think from Australia's point of view if the world starts moving towards a carbon trading system, we can't be left out of that.

"I think the weakness up until now has been that key consumers such as China and India have not been in this.

"But as the world moves towards a carbon trading system, Australia obviously can't stand out against the rest of the world."

As is usual with conservatives, it's not the threat of direct climate change impacts that has bought about this epiphany - it's gold 'ol economics. In this particular case, it's not even the negative economic impacts of climate change as demonstrated by the Stern Review, but rather the negative economic impacts of missing out on a world-wide carbon trading scheme.

Then again, if Australia's involved in such a scheme, the political reasons behind the decision really aren't that important.