Global Warming Key Issue in Australian Election

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s failure to sign the Kyoto Protocol may have cost him more than a few votes in this past Saturday’s federal election. According to The Daily Telegraph, Howard is believed to have lost because he ignored climate change.

Australia's newly elected prime minister, Kevin Rudd, however, campaigned on a platform of new leadership to address broad concerns about the environment. Rudd has already promised his first acts in office will include signing the Kyoto Protocol.

Assuming promises are kept, the prime minister-elect's signature would leave the U.S. isolated as the only industrialized country not to ratify the pact.

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