Stabilising emissions is affordable'

Adelaide Advertiser
Saturday 5/5/2007 Page: 10

AUSTRALIA has been urged to speed up its response to climate change after a major report found tackling global warming is affordable and achievable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change yesterday recommended countries adopt improved energy-efficiency measures, greater use of renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power, and invest in public transport.

The IPCC's third report said if the global temperature rise was kept between 2C and 2.4C it would affect the world economy by anywhere from a 3 per cent reduction to a 1.2 per cent gain in gross domestic product by 2030. Stabilising atmospheric carbon levels at a moderate amount of 550 parts per million would cost just 0.6 per cent of world GDP. "There is substantial economic potential for the mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades, that could offset the projected growth of global emissions or reduce emissions below current levels." it said.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the IPCC findings supported the Government's push for a new global agreement on reducing emissions to supersede the Kyoto Protocol. "What this report highlights is the importance of a global response," Mr Turnbull said. "Simply imposing unilateral and savage cuts to Australian emissions will just export our emissions and jobs to other countries in a gesture that is as destructive as it is futile." Climate Institute Australia chief executive John Connor said binding emission reduction targets were crucial.

Opposition environment spokesman Peter Garrett said effective measures would be "vastly less than the costs of continued inaction".