"NO JOBS on a dead planet" is a slogan John Howard can't understand. His argument that mining jobs are more important than global warming just seems silly.However, there is much more to Howard's climate change denial than simple wedge politics.

The scientific community is united on the issue that global warming is a serious problem for humanity and unless greenhouse emissions peak and begin to reduce by 2010, a major catastrophe is likely.

That's why the Greens insist on a minimum reduction of 80 per cent by 2050 based on 1990 levels. That's why nuclear power and coal geosequestration (even if they are safe, and they are not) are no alternative and it is urgent that renewable energy is developed, like solar and wind power.

Even the Labor Party doesn't quite get it. They have promised, if elected, that they will reduce emissions by 60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050. Good, but not good enough.

Is this do-nothing approach a result of genuine ignorance? The Australian government participated in the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change and was allocated very low emissions targets to meet. They have been accused of sabotaging the Kyoto Protocol.

The good news is that this new book, Scorcher, has been a sell-out success. Clive Hamilton, Executive Director of the Australia Institute, does get it. He also recognises the key political problem in Australia: the Howard government shares the economic interests of the key perpetrators of greenhouse emissions in Australia and overseas, the mining corporation executives.

This book discusses the role of the "greenhouse mafia" (lobbyists, ex-public servants and corporation bosses), first exposed by the ABC's Four Corners program in February 2006, who are the self-proclaimed protectors of the profits of carbon. They are committed to defeating the environment movement over climate change.

Their influence in government is enormous. Australia included key members of fossil-fuel lobby groups in its official delegation to negotiate the Kyoto protocol.

Hamilton states that, "in the case of greenhouse policy the Howard government represents the interests of a small but powerful group of corporations."

Australian governments have known about the threat of the enhanced greenhouse effect and the potential for climate change since the early 1980s. They have had plenty of time to prepare and defend the interests of their constituents.

According to Clive Hamilton, they HAVE been preparing-but the national interest for them is the fossil fuel industry, especially the coal miners.

Hamilton argues that, for an Australian government captured by these vested interests, the threat of climate change is insignificant compared to the threat of other countries cutting their greenhouse gas emissions and reducing their dependence on coal.

(So Australia would really prefer that countries of the Global South who buy our coal, do not cut their emissions, although they do not argue that publicly.)

This states the political problem accurately: rather than implement alternative measures, like the development of renewable energy, which are all available now, the Howard government has become a barrier to change. For this reason alone, Howard must go.

However, the worry is that the Labor Party have not outlined their strategy for taking on the industry and they continue to support the mining and export of uranium.

We can not leave it up to governments and their supporters in the corporations who rely on their profits from mining. These same governments continue to support unnecessary but catastrophic wars in the Middle East, wars that are directly related to the oil industry.

Western governments may prove to be too tied to the capitalist interests of the fossil fuel industries, because of capitalism itself, to make the essential shift away from coal, gas and oil.

Human society today faces enormous challenges. We need an economic and political system that is not based on profit and military power.

The campaign against global warming may also need to become a campaign to replace this system with an alternative, socialism.

Scorcher will be a useful weapon in such a campaign for real social change. It is essential reading.

Judy McVey

Scorcher: The dirty politics of climate change
By Clive Hamilton
Black Inc. Agenda, $29.95