Rudd Govt gets cold feet about global warming

Canberra Times
Tuesday 2/12/2008 Page: 4

Environmentalists have accused the Rudd Government of watering down its target on greenhouse gas reductions after it reneged on a promise to issue the figure at an international conference. Climate Change and Water Minister Penny Wong defended her decision to withhold the target yesterday as the United Nations climate change conference began in Poland. She said there were practical reasons why the Government would defer the announcement.

She will issue both the 2020 target and a white paper on the Government's proposed emissions trading scheme on December 15. "One key factor that became clear during our consultations is that business certainty would be significantly improved if the design of the scheme was released concurrently with the medium-term target range," she said. But environmental lobby groups and the Greens suspect the Government plans to publish a weaker target than expected and wants to avoid criticism at the conference.

Greens Senator Christine Milne said deferring the publication of the target was "a terrible cop-out". "It's very clear that, rather than lead, what Penny Wong wants to do is announce a really weak target," she said. Greens leader Bob Brown said Senator Wong had avoided answering his question in Parliament yesterday on what goals she would take to the conference. Australian Conservation Foundation executive director Don Henry also urged the Government to issue its 2020 target immediately. "I assume they're wanting to see how the meeting goes, although everyone's going to be holding their breath because President-elect (Barack) Obama won't be in the seat yet," he said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defended his Government's record on climate change and said the introduction of an emissions trading scheme would be economically responsible. "We have clear-cut strategy for the future that gets the balance right," he said. A recent report by the Government's climate change adviser, Professor Ross Garnaut, suggested the emissions reduction target for 2020 could be between 5 per cent and 20 per cent, compared with 2000 levels.

President-elect Obama has promised to set a goal of reducing his country's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050. The UN conference in the Polish city of Poznan is being held midway between the Bali conference last year and next December's conference in Copenhagen where a new global treaty is due to be adopted. Senator Wong said the Bali conference had set out a "road map" for negotiations on reducing emissions.

Nations were not expected to make firm commitments at the conference in Poznan. "The important conference, at which we are seeking to get global agreement, is at Copenhagen at the end of next year," she said. At the Poznan conference each country will present its vision on how next December's agreement should be reached. The executive secretary of the UN Climate Change secretariat, Yvo de Boer, said the global financial crisis should not detract from the fight against global warming.

Reports from Poznan say the 8000 delegates face a mountain of proposals for cutting greenhouse gases, transferring clean technology and beefing tip aid for poor countries in climate change's line of fire. The conference's task is to whittle these down into a workable blueprint for negotiations that will culminate in the Copenhagen treaty.