US Pres. Barack Obama's defeat in the US midterm Congressional elections on November 4, 2014, seemed to set in train "the real Obama agenda". The President immediately began a series of unilateral actions, through executive action rather than legislative processes, to achieve his goals and to punish his opponents. Significantly, his first steps were taken in Brisbane, Australia, at the G20 summit of the 20 leaders of the biggest economies. During this event, despite superficial shows of friendship to the leaders of two of the US' most important allies -Canada and Australia (the host) -Mr Obama gave a speech on November 15, 2014, at the University of Queensland, roundly condemning Australia's and Canada's policies on "climate change", although couching his speech in praise for Australia and for Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Mr Obama also, on November 16,2014, on the margins of the G20 Summit (and earlier in remarks in Yangon, Myanmar), condemned the proposed Keystone pipeline from Canada's Alberta province to US refineries - a key target for green hostility - by saying it was "... a pipeline shipping Canadian oil to world markets, not to the United States... [D]oes it contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change?"
展开▼
