Coalition can't ignore emissions elephant
Date: 24-Jan-2009
If the ‘green carbon’ initiative announced by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull was fully implemented it would only take Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to seven per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
“The climate change policies of both major parties are woefully inadequate,” said Australian Conservation Foundation climate change program manager Tony Mohr.
“To give the Great Barrier Reef even a 50-50 chance of survival, emissions need to be cut by at least a third by 2020.”
“While the idea of storing carbon in soil and vegetation, described by Mr Turnbull as ‘green carbon’, may turn out to be part of the solution, the Opposition cannot ignore the elephant in the room – emissions from big polluters burning coal and oil.
“Australians are fed up with politicians giving in to big polluters and giving up on our much loved and important natural icons.
“While the Government’s ‘carbon pollution reduction scheme’ is deeply flawed, the Opposition is yet to propose a better alternative.
“If adopted globally, the Government’s and the Opposition’s weak proposals would mean devastation for the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Alps and the Kakadu wetlands and would steer the earth towards catastrophic climate change.
“The Coalition should use its numbers in the Senate to fix the Government’s emissions trading scheme, or propose a better alternative.
“On Australia Day people across our country celebrate what makes Australia special – including natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef. They are looking for leadership to protect these special places.
“There are good prospects for a strong climate change agreement in Copenhagen in December, but Australia will have to get serious about its own emissions targets and show the leadership Australians are crying out for.”