What we’re watching: Australia’s climate bill, Ukraine’s progress, Sweden’s election
Australia passes climate legislation after a decade
It has the Australian Parliament passed its first piece of climate legislation in over a decade just months after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the centre-left Labor party came to power pledging to prioritize action to reduce climate change. The bill – backed by the Green Party and independents but not former prime minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party – passed the Senate (and is almost guaranteed to be passed by the House of Commons). It includes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by the end of the decade. For context, the US’s 2030 emissions reduction target is 50%, Canada’s is 40%, and UK’s is 78% to 2035. While the new target is an improvement from the previous Conservative government’s 26%, critics say the bill does not go far enough to offset Australia’s large carbon footprint. Australia is the world’s fifth largest exporter of coal and relies on coal for 75% of its electricity consumption. In addition, the Albanian government has not banned new coal and gas projects – lucrative Australian exports – which some say could make this 43% target difficult to achieve. Still, after years of government delay, many Aussies are hailing this progress four months after a general election largely seen as a referendum on climate change.
The US is sending more weapons to Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky has worked hard to convince Ukraine’s allies, particularly in Washington, that his country’s combat forces are a good bet and a sound investment. So far he has succeeded. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Thursday that the US will send Ukraine further $675 million in military supplies to help his forces repel Russia’s invasion. Included in the new package will be more “HIMARS”, the “High Mobility Artillery Rocket System” that Ukraine has already used for great effect against Russian targets. In addition, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday during a surprise stop in Kyiv that the United States will send an additional $2 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine and 18 other countries threatened by Russia’s military. Total US aid to Ukraine has now peaked 13.5 billion dollars. Austin noted that the United States would put its money where its mouth is because “long time”, and Blinken claimed that a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south of the country “proved effective”. Washington is also delivering a message to Russia: Don’t expect US military support for Ukraine to end anytime soon.
Sweden votes with far-right tremors
Swedes go to the polls on Sunday for what is expected to be a close election. The ruling centre-right Social Democrats and the centre-right opposition Moderates run neck and neck in the polls, with the far-right Sweden Democrats a close third. S chief Magdalena Andersson – who last November became Sweden’s first female prime minister after her predecessor abruptly resigned – leads a shaky four-party coalition and is relatively popular but faces a strong challenger in Moderate party leader Ulf Kristersson, a centrist who claims he can agree the right one. But it won’t be easy if the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats end up on top. The campaign has largely focused on a new rise gang violence linked to immigration in a country where 20% of the population is born abroad. Now the Swedish extreme right wants to change the laws to block almost all asylum seekers – especially from Muslim countries. Whatever happens, the vote will not affect Sweden’s bid to join NATO, as the ruling party was the only one that initially opposed membership but ultimately backed down from the people’s demand amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.