Climate change a vital issue for 90 per cent

AAP Newswire
Thursday 26/4/2007

CANBERRA, April 26 AAP - CSIRO surveys have found more than 90 per cent of people in two populous states believe climate change is a vital issue facing the nation. The findings in NSW and Queensland contrast with Prime Minister John Howard's declaration this week that global warming is not the overwhelming moral issue facing Australians.

Nearly 90 per cent of respondents in the survey conducted by CSIRO and the Centre for Low Emission Technology identified solar technology as their preferred low-emissions source of energy. Mr Howard has dismissed solar as unable to be a major provider of national power generation. His preferred alternative of nuclear power polarised opinion among the respondents. They supported investment in clean coal technology - a solution backed by the government and Labor - but not at the expense of research into renewable energy.

The surveys were conducted over a two-year period ending in 2006 as part of a project the centre says is one of the most detailed of its kind undertaken in the world. It found 90-93 per cent of respondents rate climate change "as an issue vital to the nation's future". In workshops conducted in towns and cities of the two states, participants "expressed a need to balance economic growth with environmental concerns and overall expressed a desire for power that had low emissions, was affordable but guaranteed security of supply".

The Queensland report found the attitudinal shift would have a "marked influence on the political and business landscape in Australia for some time to come". It also found the public was crying out for more information on what was being done to combat the problem and wanted more leadership on the issue, including financial incentives or penalties to bring rapid change.

Queensland State Development Minister John Mickel said Mr Howard should rethink his position as today's report showed Australians did not just want energy to be clean as well as affordable. "Such a public consensus is rare on any issue," Mr Mickel said. "This finding suggests a major shift in public thinking which is great because we need to get the community, along with governments and industry, involved in creating a cleaner and greener Queensland."

Queensland Conservation Council coordinator Toby Hutcheon said the results were not surprising and the real figure across the community could even be higher than 90 per cent. "In an election year, this is a message for all political parties seeking seats in Queensland ... to put forward solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions now," Mr Hutcheon said.