Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Climate change therefore warrants a whole-of-government response. We need to be acting globally, as we are doing through our Kyoto ratification process, having embarked on the Bali road map, which will conclude with the Copenhagen conference at the end of 2009. Another element of our comprehensive approach is the development of a national emissions trading scheme. Another element of our approach is to introduce a new, much more ambitious and nationally consistent renewable energy target—and, on top of that, to ensure that we have proper energy efficiency measures across the economy, encouraging people in their homes and elsewhere to do their bit when it comes to dealing with the challenge of climate change. And then there is mitigating those unavoidable impacts of climate change, including for the farming community. That is why we have a $130 million climate change in agriculture program out there at the moment.

Later today, Professor Garnaut will be delivering an interim report on his investigation into climate change. This goes directly to how we deal with the overall challenge of climate change into the future. Professor Garnaut was commissioned because the previous government refused to commission any such report in order to assess properly the economic impacts of climate change. Together with my state colleagues, we commissioned this review last year, asking Professor Garnaut to look at the costs of climate change and to recommend medium- to long-term policy options for Australia, and that interim report will be produced today. The Garnaut review will be a valuable source of advice to the government.

Professor Garnaut has acknowledged the complexity of the economic impacts of climate change, and he has made clear that the release of his report is intended to encourage further debate across the Australian community. That is as it should be. We as the government encourage such debate, because climate change affects all of us. It affects our kids. It affects our farms. It affects our businesses. It affects the future of the country and the economy itself.

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