Let science, not politics, dictate shape of Aussie carbon scheme

Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Global Warming

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ACF has called on Senators to be guided by the climate science, not politics, and work to strengthen the proposed CPRS as a matter of urgency. “If Senators move urgently to address the significant weaknesses in the CPRS they will improve Australia’s credibility and ability to push for a strong international climate change agreement at the crucial UN negotiations in Copenhagen in December,” said Australian Conservation Foundation executive director Don Henry.

“The fate of Australia’s natural icons, our great rivers, our farmers and coastal communities depend on strong international action. Establishing an effective emissions trading scheme and a strong renewable energy targets here at home will make our voice stronger at Copenhagen.”

The latest scientific report from the European Policy Centre in Brussels shows climate change is happening ‘near the upper boundary of earlier projections’. Co-author Professor Will Steffen from the ANU Climate Change Institute said last week the findings ‘lend a sense of urgency to the upcoming climate negotiations in Copenhagen’.

“The Garnaut Review, like the Stern Review before it, found the costs of delaying action to reduce emissions are far greater than the costs of acting quickly and decisively,” Mr Henry said.

There are significant improvements Senators should make to the CPRS and Australia’s climate policy package. Among other things they should:

Strengthen national emission targets and make the CPRS flexible enough to respond to developments in climate science.
Significantly reduce funding for big emitters and allocate at least 10 per cent of permit revenue to emission reductions and adaptation in developing countries.
Ensure substantial funding to build resilience to climate change in Australian ecosystems through a National Biodiversity and Climate Change Fund.
Set world’s best practice national energy efficiency standards.
Strengthen and pass the Renewable Energy Target legislation as soon as possible.

“ACF’s support for the Bill is qualified and we will continue to push strongly for improvements at every step. We call for amendments to strengthen the scheme and reject any attempts to weaken it,” Mr Henry said.

http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=2322&eid=6801