Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia once again, because tackling climate change is an international problem and countries around the world are taking steps to deal with it. Australia needs to pay its fair share in these efforts. Ninety countries have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through to 2020, and at the UN climate change conference late last year all countries agreed to negotiate a new treaty that would apply from 2020 that would introduce binding obligations on all of the major emitters to reduce their emissions. That includes our trading partners. That includes our partners in the Asia-Pacific region: the United States, China, Japan and South Korea. Countries including India have also made those commitments.

This has very significant implications for this country and for our economy. If we do not start making sensible, gradual changes to reduce the emissions intensity of our economy and we do as the Leader of the Opposition is suggesting we can do—travel to 2020 and have emissions continue to grow—we will be hit with binding obligations to reduce our emissions. It will hit our economy with the back of the axe. The only responsible course of action is to take action now. (Time expired)

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