Australia softens climate change rhetoric as bushfires, and voters, rage

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Three years ago, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, then Treasurer, brandished a lump of coal in parliament as a totem of how the ruling conservative coalition planned to keep the lights on and power prices low.

Now, with the country experiencing one of its worst ever bushfire seasons and facing criticism for his pro-coal policies, Morrison is acknowledging climate change is real. He is also talking about "adaptation" and "resilience".