Australia warned on climate stance

Sydney Morning Herald
Monday 8/12/2008 Page: 4

A CHINESE Government climate adviser has issued a stark warning that Australia would derail global climate talks if its maximum 2020 greenhouse target was less than a 25 per cut in emissions. Dr Jiahua Pan, a member of the Chinese Experts Committee for Climate Change, said Australia would be acting as though it considered itself a poor nation if it set a maximum target of a 15 per cent cut at the end of United Nations climate talks in Poland.

The public call is a sign of disenchantment among developing nations, including China - the world's biggest greenhouse emitter - that Australia, Japan and Canada have not joined Europe in promising deep emission cuts to take a lead in stalling negotiations. It comes as the newly formed Global Climate Network - a collaboration between seven international research institutes - will today publish analysis showing that even if all rich nations adopted the relatively ambitious greenhouse targets proposed by Europe and the US president elect, Barack Obama, it would not be enough to avert the worst climate change predictions without further action.

Dr Pan said the Rudd Government must follow the lead of the European Union, which has committed to an unconditional 20 per cent cut, increasing to 30 per cent if a new global climate deal can be reached in Copenhagen next year. "If we did not have these targets I think we would go away from Copenhagen empty handed," Dr Pan told the Herald.

"Outsiders would say: it is acting like a developing country - it is very strange ... If you cannot do it, how can you ask us to do it?" Federal cabinet is weighing up its 2020 reduction target, which is due to be announced next Monday as part of its white paper on a new emissions trading system. But there are expectations that the 2020 target will not fall within the 25 to 40 per cent range advised by climate scientists and backed by most rich nations in Bali a year ago.

The Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, who will attend this week's talks in Poznan, appeared to be lowering expectations yesterday on the potential for a breakthrough in the negotiations and the size of Australia's target. "We in this Government understand Australia has to play its full and fair part in terms of reducing the world's carbon pollution," Senator Wong told ABC TV.

"But when it comes to targets what we are very conscious of as a Government is striking the right balance, striking the right balance between the different interests. All is us in this government are focused on securing employment." Senator Wong said tackling climate change was a marathon rather than a sprint involving policy measures that would affect the economy for many years to come.

Dr Pan, the head of China's Research Centre for Sustainable Development, said Australia's wealth and natural resources gave it the capacity to set a strong target. Sergio Serra, the climate change ambassador for another developing economy, Brazil, said his country was also worried about the lack of commitment from industrialised nations. "Basically the EU is the only one that is acting," he said.

Developing nations are not bound by the Kyoto Protocol but the leading emerging economies, especially China, face rising pressure from the rich to accept a binding target to limit emissions growth in a new deal. About 97 per cent of emissions growth between 2006 and 2030 is projected to come from developing countries, but China says it wants the developed world to act first as promised. Last week South Africa called on Australia, Japan, Canada and Russia to put their targets on the table.