Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 3/12/2009 Page: 8
AUSTRALIA'S Chief Scientist has warned that a failure to act on climate change immediately will place the country at an economic disadvantage. On the same day the Government's emissions trading scheme failed to pass the Senate for the second time, Penny Sackett said the economy was dependent on the environment and that there were genuine opportunities for countries wanting to be leaders in "a new global green economy".
Professor Sackett said she had "serious concerns" that Australia would be at "an economic disadvantage if we don't act now". By acting now we are learning how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are learning the technologies that we need to do it.., by starting now we can be leaders in the global green economy," she said. "That's where I would like to see Australia." While stressing she was not a politician - Professor Sackett is a physicist by training and an astronomer by profession - she said Australia not having a legislated agreement before the Copenhagen climate talks would be "one of the challenges" at the global meeting.
Yesterday's defeat of Labor's emissions trading scheme means Australia will arrive in Denmark with a 2020 target for an emissions cut of between 5 and 25% below the country's 2000 levels. Like the world's leading climate scientists, Professor Sackett argues that there are about five years to avoid the dangerous damage generated if average global temperatures increased by more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. As it stands now, she said, a 1.3 degree temperature rise is all but "locked in". To meet the 2 degree target, we must halt increases in global emissions by about 2015, and then decrease them dramatically and steadily thereafter.
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